High Prevalence of Symptomatic Dry Eye Disease Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown obligated higher education students to attend online courses, leading to prolonged exposure to digital displays. Excessive time on digital devices could be a risk factor for ocular problems, including symptomatic dry eye. There are limited evidences to show the magnitude of symptomatic dry eye disease and its associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to fill this gap, among university students in Trinidad and Tobago. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students attending the University of West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus from October 2020 to April 2021. The standardized ocular surface disease index questionnaire, descriptive statics and binary logistic regression were used to assess the prevalence and associated factors of dry eye diseases. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: Four hundred (96.3%) participants completed the questionnaire. Among all, 64.8% were female and 50.5% were east Indians. About 48% were using visual display units for average of 10-15 hours/day. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye disease was 84.3% (95% CI = 80.8-87.5%) with OSDI score ≥13. Lack of education about dry eye 2.69 (95% CI: 1.41-5.13), use of the reading mode of computer 3.92 (95% CI: 1.57-9.80), refractive error 3.20 (95% CI: 1.66-6.20), previous systemic medications 2.80 (95% CI: 1.15-6.81), and average hours of visual display unit use/day (p<0.001) were significantly associated with symptomatic dry eye disease. Conclusion: Symptomatic dry eye disease was a prominent problem among students at the University of West Indies. Average of >4 hours of visual display unit use/day, refractive error, positive history of systemic medication, lack of education about dry eye, and using computers in reading mode were associated factors.

Monocular Diplopia: An Optical Correction Modality.

Post-surgical or traumatic corectopia is among the rare causes of monocular diplopia. A 26-years-old student presented to the Institute with a complaint of monocular double vision in the left eye. He had a penetrating ocular injury in the left eye and subsequently, undergone for multiple ocular surgeries. Following the final intraocular lens implantation, he experienced a monocular double vision in his left eye. Upon contact lens clinic presentation, visual acuities were 20/20 in the right and 20/320 in the left eye (improved to 20/25 with pinhole). Slit-lamp examination on the left eye revealed scarring in the superior nasal quadrant of the cornea, irregular mid-dilated pupil with exposed aphakic and pseudophakic portions. A range of different optical management options were implemented to eliminate monocular diplopia and to correct refractive error. Finally, a combination of prosthetic soft contact lens and spectacle correction was able to remove diplopia and provide binocular single vision.