Are current guidelines for categorization of visual impairment in India appropriate?

Are current guidelines for categorization of visual impairment in India appropriate?

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Context : Visual disability in India is categorized based on severity.Sometimes the disabled person does not fit unambiguously into any of the categories.Aims : To identify and quantify disability that does not fit in the current classification, and propose a new classification that includes all levels of vision.Settings and Design : Retrospective chart review of visual disability awarded in a teaching hospital.Materials and Methods : The last hundred records of patients who had been classified as visually disabled were screened amp; Reins Leather for vision in both eyes and percentage disability awarded.

Data were handled in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration.Results : Twenty-one patients had been classified as having 30% disability, seven each had 40% and 75%, and 65 had 100% disability.Eleven of them did not fall into any of the current categories, forcing the disability board to use its own judgment.There was a tendency to over-grade the disability (seven of 11; 63.6%).

The classification proposed by us is based on the national program for control of blindness′ definition of normal vision (20/20 to 20/60), low vision ( < 20/60 to 20/200), economic blindness ( < 20/200 to 20/400) and social blindness ( < 20/400).It ranges from the mildest disability (normal vision in one eye, low vision in the other) up to the most severe grade (social blindness in both eyes).Conclusions : The current classification of visual Key Tags disabilities does not include all combinations of vision; some disabled patients cannot be categorized.The classification proposed by us is comprehensive, progresses logically, and follows the definitions of the national program.