A survey on common types of ocular problems among children with cerebral palsy at urban community in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders affecting movement, balance, and posture, making it the most common motor disability in childhood. Since visual processing involves a large part of the central nervous system, brain damage leading to CP, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), often results in vision problems. Common ocular issues in children with CP include visual acuity deficits, refractive errors, strabismus, nystagmus, cataracts, and other types of visual impairments. Objective: To identify the prevalence of common ocular problems in children with CP for early assessment and intervention. Methods and Procedure: his will be an observational cross-sectional study. Children with cerebral palsy (CP) will be recruited from the Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Institute of Paediatric Neurodisorder and Autism (IPNA), BSMMU, where they regularly visit for diagnosis and management of neurodevelopmental disorders. With parental consent, clinically diagnosed CP children will be referred to the Ophthalmology Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for evaluation by a specialist to detect ocular problems. After assessment, the findings will be recorded in a semi-structured questionnaire for analysis. Results: Out of 147 patients, 110 (75%) were male and 37 (25%) were female, with 93 (63%) in the 1-14-month age group. A total of 125 (85%) had ocular problems associated with cerebral palsy (CP). Of the patients, 97 (66%) had reduced visual acuity, 80 (54%) had developmental cataracts, 41 (27%) had refractive errors, 20 (12%) had diffuse disc pallor, and 14 (10%) had congenital glaucoma. Ocular problems in CP were significantly associated with visual acuity, refractive errors, and strabismus. Conclusion: We could say that the findings emphasize the need for an early ocular examination in patients with CP. With this study it will be determined the prevalence of different type of ocular abnormalities in children with CP in Bangladesh.