Article PDF :

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Article type :

Original Article

Author :

Shailaja Karve, Shubhangi Pimprikar

Volume :

6

Issue :

2

Abstract :

Background: The prevalence of cataract is increasing. Delayed presentation with advanced cataract is quite common. There is scarcity of local data about the proportion of late presenters of cataract and the associated factors. Objective: To assess the proportion of late presenters of cataract and determine factors associated with late presentation in rural and urban patients. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted over three months in a medical college hospital on 422 patients. Their sociodemographic details were collected. A structured questionnaire was administered to understand the factors associated with delayed presentation. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: There were 430/1248 (34.4%) “late presenters” of whom 422 provided consent. There were 212 (50.2%) male patients. The mean age of patients was 60.9 9.5 years. Majority, that is, 67.8% patients came from rural areas. The mean distance travelled by patients was 53 km (minimum 2 and maximum 200 km). The commonest reason for late presentation was lack of awareness [26.1%] followed by poor financial condition [19.9%] and lack of family support [12.8%]. The other reasons were inability to forego daily wages [10.9%], good vision in the contralateral eye [10%], acceptance of poor vision as part of ageing [7.6%], difficulty in reaching hospital [5.2%], systematic illness [5.2%] and fear of surgery [2.4%]. When reasons for delayed presentation were compared between rural and urban patients, it was found that significantly greater proportion of rural patients lacked awareness, were concerned about losing their daily wages and gave poverty as the reason and also pulled on with good vision in the contralateral eye or had accepted diminished vision as an integral part of ageing. Conclusion: The most commonly quoted reason for late presentation of cataract was lack of awareness, especially in the illiterate rural patients which can be addressed through repeated counselling sessions by healthcare providers.