Purpose: To identify the prevalence of the most common diseases diagnosed in the Low Vision Service (LVS) Methods: Seven hundred and thirteen patient’s clinical records were evaluated. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the better eye was collected. All of the diagnosed diseases related to visual impairment were identified and classified. A total of 220 patients (36.6%) fulfilled the concept of low vision (group 1), and 381 patients (63.39%) presented legal blindness (groups 2, 3, 4 and 5), according […]

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Brazil. Its prevalence and incidence tend to increase significantly in the future, mainly due to the population increase and aging. The scarcity of health care resources and the increasing costs in health require a balanced analysis of health interventions and an efficient allocation of resources. The cost-effectiveness and cost-utility studies are important because they allow a comparison between different alternatives in terms of both their costs and their results. For this […]

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of a software program package at Brazilian public eye care institutions through an online survey. The package is made up of the institutions’ websites, electronic medical records, regulatory assistance control system and the preoperative scheduling system. The aim is to analyze if this type of software facilitates the provisioning of eye care services, the patients’ surgical procedure agenda, and access to information about the patients. Methods: Public health care institutions with eye care services were […]

PURPOSE: To analyze emotional reactions related to cataract surgery in two groups of patients (monocular vision – Group 1; binocular vision – Group 2). METHODS: A transversal comparative study was performed using a structured questionnaire from a previous exploratory study before cataract surgery. RESULTS: 206 patients were enrolled in the study, 96 individuals in Group 1 (69.3 ± 10.4 years) and 110 in Group 2 (68.2 ± 10.2 years). Most patients in group 1 (40.6%) and 22.7% of group 2, […]

OBJECTIVE: This is a cross sectional ophthalmic clinic-based study to estimate the prevalence and severity of pterygium in a selected population in the Amazon Basin, Brazil. METHODS: The study included 225 subjects above 20 years age from three different places of residence of Manaus city (group 1, n=89), river based communities (group 2, n= 116) and indigenous rainforest inhabitants (group 3, n=20). Pterygia was graded 1-4 by torch examination and gender, age and occupation determined. RESULTS: were assessed to have […]

PURPOSE: To evaluate the quality of life of glaucoma patients comparing public health system, and private practice, through the questionnaire National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ). METHODS: A cross-sectional study, developed through the application of NEI-VFQ questionnaire in 83 non-consecutive glaucoma patients at different stages of the disease, and 51 from public health system, and 32 patients from private clinic. RESULTS: Statistically significant difference between groups was demonstrated in subdomains related to the “general health”, “general vision”, “ocular […]

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the demographic profile of patients assisted on Cataract Campaign and correlate the characteristics of the reference system incoming patients with surgery results. METHODS: Prospective study, observational, performed with outpatients assisted on the Ophthalmology Ambulatory of Santa Clara’s Hospital (Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa de Porto Alegre) in Cataract Campaign between february and april 2008. It was utilized a questionnaire to evaluate assisted patients and performed the ophthalmological exam by biomicroscopy and fundoscopy. RESULTS: From 234 patients with complete questionnaire, […]