Ophthalmic manifestations in children with Down Syndrome in Bogotá, Colombia

BACKGROUND: To describe the ocular features of a cohort of children with Down Syndrome (DS) in Bogotá, Colombia.

METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study, evaluating 67 children with DS. A pediatric ophthalmologist performed a complete optometric and ophthalmological evaluation of each child, including visual acuity, ocular alignment, external eye examination, biomicroscopy, auto-refractometry, retinoscope in cycloplegia, and fundus examination. Results were reported as frequency distribution tables with percentages for categorical variables and means and standard deviation or median and interquartile ranges for continuous variables, according to their distribution. We used the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis for continuous variables when indicated.

RESULTS: A total of 134 eyes from 67 children were evaluated. Males represented 50.7%. The children's age ranged from 8-16 years, with a mean of 12.3 (SD 2.30). The most frequent refractive diagnosis per eye was hyperopia (47%), followed by myopia (32.1%) and mixed astigmatism (18.7%). The most frequent ocular manifestations were oblique fissure (89.6%), followed by amblyopia (54.5%) and lens opacity (39.4%). Female sex was associated with strabismus (P = 0.009) and amblyopia (P = 0.048).

CONCLUSION: Our cohort had a high prevalence of disregarded ophthalmological manifestations. Some of these manifestations, such as amblyopia, can be irreversible and severely affect the neurodevelopment of DS children. Therefore, ophthalmologists and optometrists should be aware of the visual and ocular affection of children with DS to assess and provide appropriate management. This awareness could improve rehabilitation outcomes for these children.