At the time of study, there were 27 government eye units; 6 decli

At the time of study, there were 27 government eye units; 6 declined to participate. Data management and analysis Data were entered in Microsoft Excel worksheets and selleck chem inhibitor analysis undertaken using Stata V.9.2 (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas, USA). Data were explored using cross-tabulations and frequency distributions. Visual acuity was classified based on the WHO categories of visual impairment. Severe impairment was defined as visual acuity of less than 6/60 but greater than or equal to 3/60. Moderate impairment was defined as visual acuity of less than 6/18

but equal to or greater than 6/60 in the better eye. Normal vision was defined to represent persons who had normal or near-normal vision in the better eye (VA ≥6/18). Blindness or visual impairment due to field restriction was not included due to lack of regular visual field testing. The number of newly diagnosed cases of glaucoma in Botswana in 2011 per unit population was calculated for PMH as well as SMH by dividing the number of patients with newly diagnosed glaucoma by the catchment population served by each referral hospital. CIs were estimated using binomial exact method. An assumption was made that most district and primary hospitals refer patient with newly diagnosed glaucoma to either SMH or PMH. Written informed

consent was sought and obtained from all patients participating in the study. Results Demographic characteristics A total of 366 patients participated in the glaucoma survey. Ninety-eight per cent of patients participated. The demographic characteristics of the glaucoma survey participants are

summarised in table 1. The majority of the patients were female (52.5%), aged 60 years and above (62.3%) and 24.2% had no formal education. The mean age was 62 years (SD 17.2 years). Table 1 Demographic characteristics of glaucoma survey participants Presenting symptoms, duration and medical history Table 2 summarises the presenting symptoms and its history among glaucoma survey participants. The most common presenting symptom at first presentation was poor vision (66.4%). Many cases were detected incidentally through routine check-up. Other symptoms on presentation included red or itchy eyes, headache, pain and tearing. A significant proportion of patients (38.5%) waited over 6 months from the beginning of their symptom before visiting an eye clinic. The majority of patients (51.1%) Brefeldin_A had visited an eye clinic other than the one they attended when interviewed. Many (37.1%) had a known family history and 30.3% of patients had a first-degree relative diagnosed with glaucoma. Fourteen participants had one or more family members with significantly impaired vision of unknown cause. Based on the WHO categories of visual impairment, 13.7% of the patients interviewed were blind and 53.6% had normal or near normal vision. Blindness was defined as a visual acuity of less than 3/60 in the better eye. Many (22.

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