Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Aug 1;114(8):561-565.
doi: 10.1093/trstmh/traa022.

Piloting a trachomatous trichiasis patient case-searching approach in two localities of Sudan

Angelia M Sanders  1 , Maha Adam  2 , Nabil Aziz  2 , E Kelly Callahan  1 , Belgesa E Elshafie  3
Affiliations

Piloting a trachomatous trichiasis patient case-searching approach in two localities of Sudan

Angelia M Sanders et al. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Background: Approximately 1.9 million people have become blind or visually impaired from trachoma, the leading cause of infectious blindness. Trachoma prevalence surveys conducted in Sudan have shown that thousands of Sudanese suffer from the advanced stages of the disease, trachomatous trichiasis (TT), and warrant sight-saving surgery. Sudan's National Trachoma Control Program (NTCP) provides free TT surgery; however, given that many TT patients live in remote areas with limited access to health services, identifying patients and providing eye care services has proved challenging. For this reason, the Sudan NTCP piloted a systematic TT case-finding approach to identify patients.

Methods: In Gedarif state, 11 villages in Baladyat el Gedarif locality and 21 villages in West Galabat locality were included in a TT case-searching activity from September to November 2018. TT case finders were selected from the villages where the activity took place and were trained by ophthalmic medical assistants to identify possible patients.

Results: Of 66 626 villagers examined, 491 were identified as having TT by TT case finders. Of those, 369 were confirmed as true cases by the TT surgeons, a 75.2% (369/491) success rate.

Conclusions: The TT case-finding approach provides an example of an effective method for identifying TT patients and should be expanded to other parts of the country known to be endemic for trachoma.

Keywords: Sudan; case search; surgery; trachoma; trachomatous trichiasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of Baladyat el Gedarif and West Galabat localities.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart of TT case-finding examinations and outcomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization Trachoma fact sheet. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trachoma [accessed 28 February 2019].
    1. World Health Organization Report of the 3rd Global Scientific Meeting on Trachoma. Baltimore, USA, 19–20 July, 2010. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2010.
    1. Taylor HR, Burton MJ, Haddad D et al. Trachoma. Lancet 2014;384(9960):2142–2152. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Validation of elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. June 2016. https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/resources/who_htm_ntd_2016.8/en/ [accessed 12 December 2018].
    1. Cromwell EA, Courtright P, King JD et al. The excess burden of trachomatous trichiasis in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2009;103(10):985–992. - PubMed

Publication types