Analysis of 137 Pediatric Low Vision Patients.

Park, Myeong Gyu; Moon, Nam Ju

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2001;42(8):1194-1201.
Published online August 1, 2001.

Analysis of 137 Pediatric Low Vision Patients.

Myeong Gyu Park, Nam Ju Moon

Department of Ophthalmology, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

소아 저시력환자 137 예의 분석

박명규(Myeong Gyu Park),문남주(Nam Ju Moon)

Abstract

PURPOSE
We intended to analyze the characteristics of a pediatric low vision population. METHODS: Among 430 patients who visited our low vision clinic from May 1995 to April 2000, 137 patients(31.9%) aged 15 years or less were reviewed to study epidemiologic characteristics, prescribed aids and required magnification. RESULTS: The percentage of pediatric low vision patients was higher than that of developed countries. Male predominance was found. Optic atrophy(41.6%), congenital cataract(12.4%), macular degeneration and dystrophy(9.5%) were the major causes of low vision in this population. The most commonly prescribed low vision aid was a telescope. For near task, light-gathering magnifiers were prescribed most commonly. The visual acuity was improved significantly at near and far distance after correction with low vision aid. The mean required magnification was 3.5 xand this means that a low magnification was sufficient in the majority of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Early rehabilitation and long-range planning for the low vision child are required because of profound effect of childhood visual impairment.

Key Words: Pediatric low vision;Optic atrophy;Magnification