Assessing The Clinical Profile And Treatment Outcome Of Various Children With Epiphora
European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine,
2023, Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages 2106-2110
Abstract
Epiphora is the overflowing of tears in the presence of normal tear production that could be due to obstruction in the lacrimal drainage apparatus. Immediate resolution might occur in most of the cases within one year of life. The objective of this study is to assess the clinical profile and treatment outcome of various children with epiphora.Materials and Methodology: A total of 215 eyes of 175 patients (50 bilateral cases) aged less than 11 years. Demographic data such as age, gender, laterality and clinical history of the patients were recorder after getting details from the parents or attendants. Chi‑square and Fisher’s exact test were used to test the difference in the two proportions was done using SPSS (version 11) (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA) P < 0.05 was denoted a statistically significant difference.
Results: A total of 175 patients were studied. The mean age of onset of symptoms was 1.6 ± 2 years (range, 1 month–8 years) and the mean age of presentation was 2.8 ± 2.5 years (range, 2 months–9 years). Ninety‑six patients (55%) had an early onset (<3 years) and 79 patients (45%) had a late‑onset epiphora (≥3 years). The male: female ratio in the early‑onset group was 1.5:1, and in the late‑onset group, it was 3.3:1, with an overall ratio of 1.9:1. Overall, 131 cases (75%) were unilateral (64% in early‑onset group and 88% in late‑onset group).
Conclusion: Increasing age invariably decreases the success rate of sac massage and probing. The factors that are predictive of treatment failure other than age are laterality, increasing symptom severity, presence of infection, and previous history of treatment.
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