[Influence of tropical endemic limboconjunctivitis on the distribution of astigmatism in a black pediatric population: A hospital-based case-control study]

Abstract

Purpose: To study the influence of tropical endemic limboconjunctivitis (TELC) on the distribution of astigmatism in a population of black children.

Patients and methods: We matched two groups of 36 children between the ages of 3 and 15 by age and sex. Group 1 consisted of children with TELC, and group 2 was made up of controls. All underwent cycloplegic refraction. The studied variables were age, sex, type and stage of TELC, spherical equivalent, absolute cylinder value and clinical type of astigmatism. The odds ratio was used to quantify the link between TELC and astigmatism. We used the Chi² test for the comparison of qualitative variables and the Student T test for the comparison of the means of quantitative variables. The threshold of significance of the differences was set at 0.05.

Results: Astigmatism was more common in children with TELC (61.97% vs. 37.5%), (OR=1.53; 95% CI 1.08-2.15; P=0.012). The history of TELC was associated with an increased risk of with-the-rule astigmatism (OR 1.91; 95%CI (1.23-2.97).

Conclusion: Pediatric TELC is frequently associated with the with-the-rule astigmatism in our practice setting.

Keywords: Astigmatism; Astigmatisme; Black children; Enfants mélanodermes; LCET; TELC.