K Monteiro de Carvalho¹, M E F Gasparetto², M S Amaral², N Kara-José²
¹FCM/UNICAMP, Ophthalmology, Piracicaba, Brazil; ²FCM/UNICAMP, Ophthalmology, Campinas, Brazil
PURPOSE: Determine the characteristics of an elderly population attended at the Low Vision Service of Hospital Clínicas/UNICAMP.
METHODS: A retrospective survey of the clinical records of 50 consecutive patients aged 60 years and more attended from January to October, 2001 was conducted. Data on the age distribution, the causes of vision loss, types of low vision aids prescribed, the follow-up of their use and improvement in visual acuity were obtained.
RESULTS: Age related macular degeneration were found in 29 patients (58%), followed by retinitis pigmentosa in 5 cases (10%), miopic macular degeneration in 5 cases (10%), diabetic retinopathy in 4 cases (8%) and others. The most prescribed low vision aid was positive lenses for reading. Four patients didn't received near prescription by non-alphabetical state but two of them received prescription for intermediate distance to use in daily activities and all were referred to rehabilitation. In the follow-up we found that 2 patients couldn't afford the aid. The improvement of visual acuity was highly significant.
CONCLUSION: We established that simple and inexpensive low vision aids can be supplied in order to improve the elderly people's quality of life.
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