Acute Conjunctivitis among Patients Visiting the Outpatient Department of Ophthalmology in a Tertiary Care Centre.

Introduction: Conjunctivitis is a highly prevalent ocular disease that flares up every year. The humidity and high temperature favour the causative agents responsible for the epidemic. Acute infective conjunctivitis may be either viral or bacterial, a distinct type of condition with unique clinical features and treatment approaches. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of acute conjunctivitis among patients visiting the outpatient Department of Ophthalmology in a tertiary care centre. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the patients visiting the outpatient Department of Ophthalmology. Data of 30 August 2023 to 30 September 2023 was collected between 21 November 2023 to 24 November 2023. All patients presenting in the Ophthalmology Department having complete hospital record were included in the study. Patients having missing data on the medical records of the hospital were excluded. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 5,507 patients, acute conjunctivitis was seen in 1240 (22.52%) (21.42-23.62, 95% Confidence Interval). The majority were male 732 (59.03%) and adults 760 (61.29%) with a mean age of 32.56±18.74 years. Conclusions: The prevalence of conjunctivitis among patients visiting the outpatient Department of Opthalmology was found to be higher than other studies done in similar settings. Keywords: conjunctivitis; disease outbreaks; enterovirus.

Comparative study of latanoprost (0.005%) and bimatoprost (0.03%) in primary open angle glaucoma.

INTRODUCTION: Glaucoma can cause vision loss by damaging the optic nerve and increased intraocular pressure is one of the primary risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a hospital based, prospective, comparative, single masked (observer masked) study conducted on patients attending glaucoma department of Nepal Eye Hospital within a period of 1 year from February 2020 to January 2021. The sample size was 50. Specially designed proforma was used to collect the patient. Patients falling are divided in group A and group B randomly, patients using latanoprost were placed in group A and patients using bimatoprost were placed in group B. The examination procedure included history taking, Snellen visual acuity, refraction, gonioscopy, IOP measurement, slit lamp biomicroscopy and fundoscopy with 90 diopter lens. RESULTS: Among fifty patients 33 (66%) were males and 17 (34 %) were females, 35 (70%) belonged to urban and 15 (30%) from rural population. Maximum number of patients were in the age group of 16-30 years i.e. 15 (30%), second highest group was 61-75 years of age group i.e. 14 (28%) , 11 i.e. 22% of patients were of 46-60 years of age group. Nine (18%) of patients were 31-45 years of age group and 1 i.e. 2% was above 75 years of age. Twenty percent presented with hypertension, 14 % with diabetes mellitus and 66 % with no systemic history. Ten percent had family history of glaucoma and 90% patients had no family history . Twenty-eight percent of patients had a family history of smoking and 72 % had no history. The mean IOP of group A (0.005% latanoprost) patients initially before the start of the treatment was 27.16 mm Hg, at sixth month IOP was 17.24 mm Hg, mean difference was 9.92 mm Hg and p value was < 0.001. The mean IOP of group B (0.03% bimatoprost) patients initially before the start of the treatment was 26.88 mm Hg , at the sixth month the IOP was 15.88 mm Hg , and the mean difference was 11.00 mm Hg and p value was < 0.001. There was a significant difference in IOP at first visit and 6 months in both groups, p<0.001. (The t-test is used.) However, the mean difference of group B, 11.00, is greater than group A, 9.92. CONCLUSION: Male gender, increasing age, urban population, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and high intraocular pressure were the most prevalent risk factors. The most important factor is early detection of signs and symptoms and measurement of diurnal intraocular pressure.