Functional vision in patients with neovascular maculopathy and poor visual acuity
E. M. Ebert, A. M. Fine, J. Markowitz, M. G. Maguire, J. S. Starr and S. L. Fine
Central visual function is characteristically reported as Snellen acuity at
distance and near. We performed functional tests in a group of patients
with visual acuity of 20/100 or worse due to macular disease to determine
whether there was a relationship between Snellen acuity and functional
performance among these patients with poor visual acuity. Our tests of
functional performance included currency discrimination, color recognition,
reading a clock, and reading large print. Our results suggest that there is
a correlation between Snellen acuity and functional vision, even among
patients with poor visual acuity. Hence, therapeutic efforts to keep
patients' visual acuity at 20/200 rather than 20/400, for example, appears
to be justifiable in that better acuity levels seem to be associated with
improved functional performance.
