DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH CONGENITAL CATARACT AND THOSE WITH NON-CONGENITAL CATARACT IN SAUDI ARABIA

Purpose:  The study aimed to determine differences in age of presentation, unilateral or bilateral disease, gender, and follow-up after surgery between patients with congenital cataract and those with non-congenital cataract.

Methods: This retrospective case series included all children aged 13 years and below, who had undergone cataract surgery between 2015 and 2020 at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were obtained from the medical records of the hospital. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel, while analysis was performed by using SPSS version 19. T-test and Pearson’s Chi‑square test were used to test associations where appropriate.

Results: 60 children underwent surgery during the 5-year period under review. In all, 36 (73.5%) were male. Congenital cataract was diagnosed in 68.3% and non-congenital cataract in 31.7% children. The mean age at presentation was 4.3 years (±SD 3.7) for congenital cataract and 6.4 years (±SD 3.9) for non- congenital cataract, 47 (78.3%) children underwent follow-up, while 13 (21.7%) were lost to follow-up.

Conclusions: Congenital cataract was presented at a younger age than noncongenitally cataract, most congenital cataract cases were bilateral, and gender differences were nonsignificant. In Jeddah, congenital and non-congenital cataract present at a later stage and an urgent childhood blindness program is needed and a Child Eye Health Tertiary Facility should be established to diagnose pediatric cataract as early as possible to prevent blindness and visual disability.

Keywords: congenital cataract, surgery, non-congenital cataract, ophthalmology.