Patients' Acceptance of Glaucoma Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prcis: Patients' acceptance of glaucoma therapy was high overall in this study, but lower for surgery than for laser or medical therapy. Fear and cost were the leading reasons why patients declined recommended therapy and they were treatment-specific. Cost was the primary reason for declining medical and laser therapy, while fear was the most common reason for declining surgical therapy.

Determinants of participation in glaucoma genomic research in South East Nigeria: A cross-sectional analytical study.

Background: Genomic research advances the understanding of human health and disease. It also drives both the discovery of salient genetic association(s) as well as targeted screening, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Human subject participation is crucial for the success of genomic research.

Glaucoma Treatment Patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prcis: Physicians were most likely to recommend primary medical therapy upon diagnosis of glaucoma. Laser therapy was underutilized where they were available. Physicians were more likely to recommend surgery in severe glaucoma, laser therapy in mild glaucoma, while recommendation of medical therapy did not depend on glaucoma severity.

Clinical Characteristics and Stage at Presentation of Glaucoma Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prcis: The initial presentation of glaucoma varies meaningfully across SSA. A comprehensive strategy with regional customization based on local differences is needed to reduce glaucoma blindness in SSA.

Purpose: To explore regional variations in the presentation of newly diagnosed glaucoma in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA).

Eyes of Africa: The Genetics of Blindness: Study Design and Methodology.

Background: This report describes the design and methodology of the "Eyes of Africa: The Genetics of Blindness," a collaborative study funded through the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) program of the National Institute of Health.

Methods: This is a case control study that is collecting a large well phenotyped data set among glaucoma patients and controls for a genome wide association study. (GWAS).

Comparing posture induced intraocular pressure variations in normal subjects and glaucoma patients.

Aim: To compare the posture-induced variations in intraocular pressure (IOP) between the primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and non-glaucomatous eyes.

Methods: A case-controlled age matched study was conducted in 55 successive newly diagnosed POAG and 56 non-glaucomatous patients seen in glaucoma clinic and general outpatient eye clinic in the Alex Ekwueme University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. The IOPs of eligible correspondents were measured with Perkin's hand-held tonometer in the sitting, supine flat and supine with pillow positions respectively.

Glaucoma care and follow-up in sub-Saharan Africa: Is there a need for modification of counselling practices to improve awareness, knowledge and treatment acceptance profiles? A prospective cross-sectional study.

Background: Blindness from glaucoma is prevalent in parts of Africa. Lack of awareness, late diagnosis, poor acceptance and compliance to treatment as well as unorthodox care practices are among many contributing factors. Strategies that improve glaucoma awareness and treatment acceptance are required to resolve this trend.

Mapping the pathways to eye care in a rural south-east Nigerian population: any implications for practice, eye care programs and policy?

Introduction: The appropriateness of the initial pathway to care, especially eye care, is critical for timeliness and outcomes of care. Individual-dependent and health system-determined factors influence the preferred initial pathway to care. This study aimed to map the initial pathways to eye care in a rural population in south-east Nigeria and identify the associated factors.

Ten-year rural experience of surgical eye removal in a primary care center south-eastern Nigeria.

Introduction: Surgical removal of the eye usually reflects the pattern of severe ocular diseases and the level of development and socio-cultural dynamics in each specific setting. In Nigeria there have been several reports of causes of surgical eye removal in urban tertiary eye-care centers. This study determined the pattern of surgical eye removal in a rural primary eye-care facility (hospital) in South-eastern Nigeria.

Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Seropositivity among Eye Surgical Patients at a Rural Eye Care Facility in South-Eastern Nigeria.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency infection among patients who underwent surgery at a rural eye care facility in southeastern Nigeria.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients who had undergone surgery and a pre-operative Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) test, between August 2008 and July 2009 at the Eye unit of the Presbyterian Joint Hospital, Ohaozara, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Data were analyzed for age, sex, type of surgery and HIV status.

Traditional eye medicine use by newly presenting ophthalmic patients to a teaching hospital in south-eastern Nigeria: socio-demographic and clinical correlates.

Background: This study set out to determine the incidence, socio-demographic, and clinical correlates of Traditional Eye Medicine (TEM) use in a population of newly presenting ophthalmic outpatients attending a tertiary eye care centre in south-eastern Nigeria.

Methods: In a comparative cross-sectional survey at the eye clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, between August 2004 - July 2006, all newly presenting ophthalmic outpatients were recruited. Participants' socio-demographic and clinical data and profile of TEM use were obtained from history and examination of each participant and entered into a pretested questionnaire and proforma.