Identifying causes of vision loss and assistive technology needs among patients attending rehabilitation clinic of a tertiary care center in North India.

Purpose: Investigating the causes of visual loss and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) is crucial for identifying avoidable eye problems and planning appropriate rehabilitation and assistive technology (AT) services. The study aimed to identify various causes of vision loss and determine AT required for vision rehabilitation (VR).

Methods: The electronic records of patients who attended the VR clinic at a tertiary eyecare for the past 2 years were reviewed. Information such as demographics, BCVA, and causes of visual impairment were retrieved from the records. BCVA was categorized into better than or equal to 1/60 and less than <1/60 for AT services.

Results: In total, 1723 patients, mostly male (71.2%), visited the rehabilitation clinic from 2018 to 2019. Around 58.6% of patients belonged to the age group 16-49 years, whereas 25.6% were less than 15 years old. The most frequent eye problems were retinal disorders (63.5%), followed by retinitis pigmentosa (15.2%) and rod-cone dystrophy (4.7%). In contrast, congenital disorders were the most common cause of vision loss among younger groups. Approximately 36.0% of patients had <1/60 blindness and 16.6% had ≥1/60. Around 17.1% of patients would benefit from large prints (near vision acuity N18-N12).

Conclusion: Early detection and timely management will prevent a significant proportion of patients from developing irreversible vision loss. Around one-third of patients would benefit from visual substitution AT.