A Rare Case of Bilateral Cataracts as The First Manifestation of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in A 14 Year Old Nigerian Girl

Abstract

Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus(DM)is made in some persons in the Ophthalmology clinic when they present  with  eye  complaints.Cataract  is  a  commonDMocular  complication in  clinical  practice.  The objective  of  this  report  is  to draw  attention  to  cataractwhich  is  usually  seen  in  older  persons  but whichcould bethe first manifestation of type 1 diabetesmellitus (T1DM)inchildren and adolescents. We report this first case of ateenage Nigerian girl with a diagnosis of bilateral cataractpresenting as the  first  manifestation  of  type  1 diabetesmellitus.  Shewaslater  referred  to  the  endocrinologistsbecause  of  severe  hyperglycaemia. Shewas  treated  to  achievea  good  glycaemic  control  and  had  a successfulcataractsurgeryin  both eyes.She  is  being  followed  up  in  both  the  Ophthalmology  and Diabetes clinics. In conclusion, all patients presenting with cataracts irrespective of their ages must be screened for diabetes mellitus so that proactive measures can be put in place to prevent and manage other chronic complications of DM affecting the eyes and other organs.Conversely, all T1DM patients should be screened for cataract soon after diagnosis