ABSTRACT
Objective@#The primary goal of this study was to determine the effect of visual impairment (VI) on the quality of life (QoL) in children aged 3-7 years.@*Methodology@#This was a cross-sectional study involving 138 parents or caregivers of children aged 3-7 years from Pediatric Ophthalmology and General Ophthalmology Clinics of a tertiary government hospital. The Filipino version of the Children’s Visual Function Questionnaire (CVFQ3plus), an instrument that measures the impact of visual impairment on the QoL of children aged 3-7 years and their families, was used. It has 6 subscales: general health, general vision, competence, personality, family impact, and treatment. T-test was used to compare the total index QoL score and subscale scores between children with VI (n=69) and the control group (n=69). The multivariate regression model based on the total index QoL score in children with VI was used to assess the effect of other demographic factors.@*Results@#Children with VI had significantly lower total index QoL score (p=0.02), general vision (p=0.04), competence (p=0.00), and personality (p=0.02) subscale scores than the control group. The visual acuity of children with VI had a significant effect on the total index QoL score (p=0.04). Demographic factors like patient’s age and sex, and parental age, sex and educational attainment had no effect on total index QoL score.@*Conclusion@#Visual impairment has a negative effect on the quality of life of Filipino children aged 3-7 years as shown by the use of the CVFQ3plus.
Subject(s)
Vision Disorders , Quality of Life , Vision, LowABSTRACT
Introduction: In line with the regional aim of eliminating rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), phased introduction of rubella-containing vaccines (RCV) in the Philippines’ routine immunization programme began in 2010. We estimated the burden of CRS in the country before widespread nationwide programmatic RCV use. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review in four tertiary hospitals. Children born between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2014 and identified as possible CRS cases based on the presence of one or more potential manifestations of CRS documented in hospital or clinic charts were reviewed. Cases that met the clinical case definition of CRS were classified as either confirmed (with laboratory confirmation) or probable (without laboratory confirmation). Cases that did not fulfil the criteria for either confirmed or probable CRS were excluded from the analysis. Results: We identified 18 confirmed and 201 probable cases in this review. Depending on the hospital, the estimated incidence of CRS ranged from 30 to 233 cases per 100 000 live births. The estimated national burden of CRS was 20 to 31 cases per 100 000 annually. Discussion: This is the first attempt to assess the national CRS burden using in-country hospital data in the Philippines. Prospective surveillance for CRS and further strengthening of the ongoing measles-rubella surveillance are necessary to establish accurate estimates of the burden of CRS and the impact of programmatic RCV use in the future.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To determine the applicability of a modified criteria for initiating retinal examinations to screen for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).@*Methods@#All ROP charts of babies who had initial retinal examination to screen for ROP from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2008 at the neonatal-intensivecare nursery and eye center of a tertiary hospital were reviewed. Date of birth, sex, age of gestation (AOG), birth weight (BW), postnatal age (PNA), postconceptional age (PCA), and ROP classification were recorded. Descriptive statistics and Student’s t-test were used to analyze the data.@*Results@#A total of 690 eyes of 345 babies, 174 males and 171 females, were included in the study. At the initial retinal exam, the mean AOG was 31.39 ± 2.46 weeks; BW, 1,268.77± 317.12 grams; PNA, 4.56 ± 2.95 weeks; and PCA, 35.94 ± 3.26 weeks. Immature retinas in both eyes were seen in 175 (50.72%) babies, while 113 (32.75%) had ROP of any stage in both eyes and 51 (14.78%) had immature retina in one eye and ROP of any stage in the other eye. Among the 113 babies with ROP, 33 (29.2%) were assessed to have pre-threshold ROP.@*Conclusion@#This study supported the applicability of the modified criteria which are in agreement with the Joint Statements of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and the United Kingdom Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health for initiating retinal exams to screen for ROP.