Aim: To determine the visual status and visual challenges of ‘Persons with Albinism’ (PWA) in Port Harcourt, Niger Delta, Nigeria. 

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 116 persons with albinism in Port Harcourt over a five-month period. Visual assessments were used to ascertain the participants visual acuity, visual needs and challenges. Detailed ocular examination of the visual acuity, anterior and posterior segments were carried out. Data was analysed using SPSS version 25. Chi square and Independent sample T test were the statistical tools. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. 

Results: Forty-four participants (37.9%) were males. Male to female ratio was 1:1.6. The mean age of participants was 26.12 ± 14.32 years (range: 5-56 years). Difficulty in performing near work was the major complaint of the study participants 96 (82.7%). Most eyes were visually impaired for both distance (98.3%) and near vision (96.6%). With refraction and Low Vision Aid (LVA), there was significant improvement of the mean VA by 2 - 3 acuity lines and 6 acuity lines respectively (p = 0.000). All the examined eyes had fundus hypo-pigmentation, 91.4% had iris trans-illumination, 86.2% had nystagmus and 34.4% had strabismus. 

Conclusion: Majority of the study participants (98.3%) had reduced near and distance visual acuity There was a significant improvement in the participants vision with correction (p = 0.00). Refraction with appropriate correction of near and distance vision should therefore be part of the routine ophthalmic services for PWA.

Keywords: Visual Status; Persons with Albinism; Niger Delta Region

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Citation

Citation: Alfred A Onua and Ihunanya Ibanga. “Visual Status and Visual Challenges of Persons with Albinism in A Metropolitan City of Niger Delta Region, Nigeria”. Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 3.2 (2020): 29-34.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Alfred A Onua and Ihunanya Ibanga. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.