Clinical Profile of Patients with Spontaneous Subconjunctival Hemorrhage at Ophthalmology Outpatient Department in a Multidisciplinary Hospital, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Red eye is a common ocular problem leading to emergency medical visits. Non-traumatic subconjunctival hemorrhage (NTSCH) is a common cause of acute red eye; proper evaluation to identify benign NTSCH or serious underlying disease should be guided by local disease epidemiology. We describe the clinical profile of patients with spontaneous subconjunctival hemorrhage (SCH) at the outpatient department in a multidisciplinary hospital.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the Ophthalmology department of Patan hospital between January 2020 to April 2021. Consecutive patients aged 14 years or more with SCH were included. SCH secondary to trauma, common ocular problems associated with SCH, and pre-existing ocular disease were excluded. The comprehensive patient evaluation was performed by an ophthalmologist. Descriptive statistics are presented.

Results: Middle-aged people (30-60 years) constituted the largest proportion of patients with NTSCH, almost half (47.3%) of them were > 40 years of age. Most patients presented with isolated red eyes. Hypertension was identified in 53.4% of patients with SCH. The majority of patients had isolated SCH, however, associated ocular (8.30%) or systemic pathology ( 16.61%) was identified in a small group of patients.

Conclusion: Although most patients present to the outpatient department with isolated SCH, a comprehensive evaluation to detect hypertension and associated ocular or systemic disease should be performed.