Effect of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection on the amplitude of accommodation of young adults in Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum is the parasite responsible for most malarial infections in Nigeria. Malaria is the most widespread parasitic infectious disease in the world. This study aimed to determine the effect of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection on the amplitude of accommodation (AA) in young adults. The study was a prospective laboratory and clinical study carried out at the Madonna University Teaching Hospital Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 years were included in this study. Informed consent was obtained from the subjects to participate in the study. To confirm the presence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection, preliminary tests including case history, external and internal eye examination, retinoscopy, and subjective refraction were performed to determine subjects who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The amplitude of accommodation using the push-up method was measured just before treatment and two weeks after recovery from malaria infection. Results show that the mean AA during malaria infection was 7.25±1.73D and 9.03±1.72D after recovery; showing a mean difference of -1.78D (24.55%). This reduction in AA during malaria infection was found to be statistically significant (t(119) = -33.3, p(0.00)˂0.05) when tested using the paired sample t-test at a significance level of 0.05.