Refractive errors in albino children in Brazzaville

We evaluated refractive disorders in Albino children of Brazzaville and assessed their impact on the visual acuity of these children. Patients and method: Our study was conducted at the University Hospital of Brazzaville in October 2018 as part of a special program of the Congolese Association of Albinos aimed at providing glasses free of charge to albino children. This was a cross-sectional study of 32 children with oculocutaneous albinism. All children received a complete ophthalmological examination. Ametropia was measured by cycloplegic autorefraction performed approximately 45-60 minutes after topical instillation of 3 drops of 1% cyclopentolate administered 5 minutes apart. Results: All children had nystagmus, including 2 cases with strabismus (6.25%). All children had astigmatism, 56.25% of whom were hypermetropic. The mean corrected visual acuity in the better eye was 0.18+/-0.14. The Mean uncorrected visual acuity in the better eye was 0.33+/-0.15. The improvement in visual acuity after correction was statistically significant P=0.002. Conclusion: Albinism is associated with a variety of ocular anomalies including ametropia. Hypermetropic astigmatism was the most common refractive error identified in our series. Correction of this ametropia results in a statistically significant improvement in visual acuity. Introduction Albinism is a group of inherited disorders that are characterized by a reduction or absence of melanin pigment in tissues, in conjunction with ocular and visual pathway developmental abnormalities. The most characteristic manifestation of albinism is related to hypopigmentation in the visual system and/or the skin and teguments. This lack of production of melanin is associated with specific changes in the eye such as foveal hypoplasia and misrouting of optic fibres from the retina to the visual cortex [1]. These changes explain the low visual acuity that presents from birth. In addition, albinism is also associated with refractive disorders and reduced visual acuity [2]. The purpose of this study is to determine the refractive disorders in children of Albino Brazzaville and to appreciate their impact on the visual acuity of these children. Patients and methods Patients Our study was conducted at the University Hospital of Brazzaville in October 2018 as part of a special program of the Congolese Association of Albinos aimed at providing glasses free of charge to albino children. Method This was a cross-sectional study of 32 children with oculocutaneous albinism. All the selected children benefited from a complete ophthalmological examination. We used the best subjective corrected *Correspondence to: Nganga Ngabou Charles Géraud Fredy, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Brazzaville, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, E-mail: fredygeraud@gmail.com