[National survey of blindness and avoidable visual impairment in Argentina, 2013]. / Encuesta nacional de ceguera y deficiencia visual evitable en Argentina, 2013.
Rev Panam Salud Publica
; 37(1): 7-12, 2015 Jan.
Article
em Es
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25791183
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Determine the prevalence of blindness and avoidable visual impairment in Argentina, its causes, the coverage of cataract surgery, and the barriers that hinder access to these services.METHODS:
Cross-sectional population study conducted between May and November 2013 using the standard methodology for rapid assessment of avoidable blindness (RAAB), with a random cluster sampling of 50 people aged 50 years or more, -representative of the entire country. Participants' visual acuity (VA) was measured and the lens and posterior pole were examined by direct ophthalmoscopy. An assessment was made of the causes of having VA < 20/60, the coverage and quality of cataract surgery, and the barriers to accessing treatment.RESULTS:
3 770 people were assessed (92.0% of the projected number). The prevalence of blindness was 0.7% (confidence interval of 95% 0.4-1.0%). Unoperated cataract was the main cause of blindness and severe visual impairment (44.0% and 71.1%, respectively), while the main cause of moderate visual impairment was uncorrected refractive errors (77.8%). Coverage of cataract surgery was of 97.1%, and 82.0% of operated eyes achieved VA ≥ 20/60. The main barriers to receiving this treatment were fear of the surgical procedure or of a poor result (34.9%), the cost (30.2%), and not having access to the treatment (16.3%).CONCLUSIONS:
There is a low prevalence of blindness in the studied population and cataract is the main cause of blindness and severe visual impairment. Efforts should continue to extend coverage of cataract surgery, enhance preoperative evaluation, improve calculations of the intraocular lenses that patients need, and correct post-operative refractive errors with greater precision.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos da Visão
/
Cegueira
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
America do sul
/
Argentina
Idioma:
Es
Revista:
Rev Panam Salud Publica
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE PUBLICA
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Argentina