Prevalence of pathological myopia among patients in a large tertiary care center in Egypt

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of Pathological Myopia at the general ophthalmology clinic of our University Hospital over a period of 3 months. Methods: This is a cross sectional study to determine the prevalence of Pathological Myopia at the ophthalmology clinic of our University Hospital. Patients had full ophthalmological examination. Eyes were subjected to non-cycloplegic refraction using an autorefractometer. Eyes not liable for refracton (e.g. vitreous hemorrhage) underwent either A scan or B scan ultrasonography to determine their axial length. The prevalence of Pathological Myopia in this sample of eyes was then determined, where Pathological-Myopia was defined as refraction more than or equal to-6D spherical equivalent (SphEq) or an axial length more than or equal to 25.5 mm. Results: A total of 1289 eyes of 668 consecutive patients were examined. One hundred and forty eyes (10.9%) were found to have Pathological-Myopia. The number of patients with at least one pathologically myopic eye was 84 patients (12.6% of examined patients). Of these patients, 19 (22.6%) had unilateral Pathological-Myopia, while 65 (77.4%) had bilateral Pathological-Myopia. The refractive error of pathologically myopic eyes ranged from-3.00D to-26.00D (mean-12.11 ± 5.05D) calculated as the SphEq of their refraction. Their axial lengths ranged from 25.50 mm to 36.00 mm (mean 28.65 ± 2.34 mm). Conclusion: This study suggests a high prevalence of Pathological Myopia in Egypt compared to studies from other countries. A large community-based study in Egypt is required to determine the prevalence in the general population.