ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Prevalence and spectrum of eye disorders among patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus in a tertiary hospital in Northern Nigeria

Maryam H Abdullahi¹, Victoria Pam², Kehinde Kabir Oladigbolu², Abdul Aziz Umar³, Rilwan Chiroma Muhammad⁴

¹ Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria
² Department of Ophthalmology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, College of Health Sciences, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Rilwan Chiroma Muhammad
Department of Ophthalmology, College of Health Sciences,
University of Abuja, P.M.B. 117, Gwagwalada, Abuja Nigeria

Source of Support: None
Conflict of Interest: None

Background: This survey was undertaken in a rural local government area (LGA) where eye care services recently commenced, with no known previous data on blindness or visual impairment.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the spectrum of eye disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted among 100 consecutive patients with RA and SLE. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain details of patients’ sociodemographics, type of rheumatic disease, and prescribed medications. Each patient had a detailed examination of the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. Refraction, intraocular pressure measurement, Schirmer’s test, tear breakup time, gonioscopy, and dilated fundoscopy were also done. Fundus photograph, central visual field assessment, and optical coherence tomography were done as necessary. Analysis was done with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

Results: A total of 100 patients consisting of 74 RA and 26 SLE patients were evaluated. The female: male ratio was 4.3: 1 for RA, and all SLE patients were females. The prevalence of eye disorders was 42% in all patients; it was 41.9% and 42.3% among RA and SLE patients, respectively. The most common eye disorders were dry eye (38), refractive errors (18), and cataract (16). The mean age of RA patients with eye disorders (52.19?±?16.17 years) was significantly higher than those without eye disorders (42.30?±?13.14 years) (P = 0.005).

Conclusion: Eye disorders are common in RA and SLE. Comprehensive eye examination should be done on all RA and SLE patients at diagnosis and before commencement of medications, and patients should be referred promptly for evaluation when they have eye complaints.