• Sadia Bukhari, Shua Azam, Shahid Ahsan, Tauseef Mahmood, Muhammad Saleh Memon, Uzma Haseeb, and Muhammad Arslan.
• Dr. Sadia Bukhari, (MS Ophth). Department of Ophthalmology, Al Ibrahim Eye Hospital, Isra Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Karachi, Pakistan.
• Pak J Med Sci. 2022 Jul 1; 38 (6): 150115071501-1507.

ObjectivesTo observe patterns of Pediatric eye diseases over five years 2015-19, to improve management of ophthalmic pediatric units in the developing countries.MethodsIt was an observational, cross-sectional study carried out in a tertiary eye care Hospital, Karachi. Records of the children under 16 years of age from 2015 to 2019 were retrieved. Inclusion criteria included complete records with age, gender of the children, symptoms, examination, investigation if necessary, and diagnosis. All incomplete records were excluded.ResultsA total of 35348 records with 55.17% boys and 44.82% girls were analyzed. Similar gender difference was reflected in disease frequency. Seven percent of the children did not have detectable ocular pathology. Conjunctivitis, refractive errors and squint were the three most common ocular morbidities observed in decreasing order of frequency as 32.67%, 20.08% and 14.7% respectively. Cataract was present in 4.51%, Corneal disease in 4.11%, Retinal pathology in 1.04%, Glaucoma in 0.49% cases; but Retinoblastoma was present in 55 cases and ROP in 4 cases only. Almost 60% of the children had simple ocular problems like conjunctivitis, refractive error and absence of any pathology.ConclusionMajority of the children attending pediatric ophthalmology had simple problems manageable at primary health facility level. Strengthening of the primary health care facility will reduce considerable burden of pediatric unit at the tertiary level. Optometrists and orthoptists are important members of the team for refraction and squint management.Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.

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