Etiology and clinical profile of pediatric cataract in a tertiary care center of Eastern Nepal.

: Cataract is one of the leading causes of blindness in children. There are very few studies from Nepal on pediatric cataract. The present study is an attempt to get information on clinical profile and etiology of cataract in pediatric age group with an emphasis on preventable factors. A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out in a tertiary referral hospital in Eastern region of Nepal. After obtaining detail history, all children upto 14 years of age with cataract underwent examination under slit lamp or the operating microscope. Cataract is broadly classified into traumatic and non-traumatic groups. TORCH test for rubella, random blood sugar, urine reducing substance, chromosomal analysis were done in children with non-traumatic cataract Out of 172 children 34 (88%) had non-traumatic and 65 (12%) traumatic cataract. The mean age was 5.63 +/- 3.59 years and 7.39 +/- 3.94 years in non-traumatic group and traumatic group respectively. 8 (9.82%) patients with non-traumatic cataract were below the age of one year. Among non-traumatic cataract, 42 (37.50%) had hereditary, 9 (8.03%) had systemic syndromes, 5 (4.46%) had cataract due to maternal infection, 3 (2.67%) had metabolic disorder. While 11 (9.82%) cataract were associated with other ocular dysmorphology, cause was not ascertained in 31 (idiopathic). 11 (9.82%) had complicated cataract. 24.1% (n=27) of children with bilateral cataract had nystagmus at the time of presentation to hospital. In traumatic group, play related injuries were more common than household injuries. A very few children were below one year of age at the time of presentation to hospital. Establishing pediatric vision screening program in the primary health posts, genetic counseling, maternal immunization, health education to school children and use of safety glasses are some important measures that could prevent cataract blindness in our children.