Hypertensive Retinopathy among Hypertensive Patients in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Hypertension manifests in the eyes as retinopathy, choroidopathy, and optic neuropathy of which retinopathy can be used as a predictor for systemic morbidities and mortalities. The study aims to determine the prevalence of hypertensive retinopathy among hypertensive patients visiting the outpatient Department of Ophthalmology in a tertiary care center. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among hypertensive patients from 4th April to 19th November 2023 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2079/80/96). A Convenience sampling method was used. The Point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 161 hypertensive patients, hypertensive retinopathy was present in 70 (43.48%) (35.82-51.14, 95% Confidence Interval). Grade I hypertensive retinopathy accounted for 35 (50%) followed by Grade II HR in 17 (24.29%), Grade III HR in 14 (20%) and Grade IV HR in 4 (5.71%) in the study participants. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertensive retinopathy was found to be higher than other studies done in similar settings.