Two hundred and thirteen Sudanese children (4–60 months old) with malnutrition were examined for signs of xerophthalmia. Sixty-three (29%) of these children were found to have varying stages of xerophthalmia. These included 35 (56%) patients with conjunctival xerosis, 12 (19%) with Bitot's spots, seven (11%) with corneal xerosis, seven (11%) with corneal ulceration and two (3%) with corneal scar.
Direct questioning of the parents of these children revealed evidence of night blindness in nine (4%) of all patients. All nine patients had signs of xerophthalmia which showed good response to vitamin A therapy.
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