A prospective study on epidemiology of dacryocystitis at a tertiary eye care center in Northern India.

AIM: The aim of this study is to study the prevalence, incidence, and the epidemiological characteristics of the patients of acquired dacryocystitis at a tertiary eye care center of Northern India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a prospective, cross-sectional study carried out over a period of 2 years (July 2016-July 2018). The prevalence, incidence, and the epidemiological characteristics of acquired dacryocystitis were studied and analyzed. Chi-square test was used to test the qualitative distribution. RESULTS: A total of 212 cases were included in the study. The prevalence rate of dacryocystitis was 19.5 cases per 10,000 patients, and the incidence rate was 15 cases per 10,000 patients. Chronic dacryocystitis (183; 86.30%) was more commonly encountered clinical type than acute dacryocystitis. Majority of cases (204; 96.23%) were due to the primary acquired nasolacrimal duct (NLD) obstruction, whereas eight cases (3.78%) were due to the secondary acquired NLD obstruction. Females were more commonly affected (156; 73.58%). The mean age was 44.44 ± 18.95 (range: 12-86) years. Majority of the patients 108 (50.94%) belonged to 3rd-6th decades of life. The disease was more prevalent in people belonging to lower-middle socioeconomic class (92; 43.40%) living in rural areas (130; 61.32%) and the majority of them were housewives (125; 59%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and prevalence of acquired dacryocystitis were 15 and 19.5 cases per 10,000 patients. It was much more common in females of lower socioeconomic status and is seen commonly in the 3rd to 6th decades of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]