Rohrschneider K, Mackensen I
Ophthalmologische Rehabilitation, Univ.-Augenklinik Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg.
Ophthalmologe. 2013 Apr;110(4):331-8. doi: 10.1007/s00347-012-2708-7.
Since 1868, the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg has been providing care for the pupils of the school for blind and visually handicapped children in Ilvesheim, Germany. Previous studies on the causes of low vision have demonstrated the effects of the advances in medicine and ophthalmology with an explicit decrease in the number of inflammatory corneal diseases, followed by a reduced number of students suffering from congenital cataract and glaucoma. The aim of the present study was to evaluate current data and to compare it to previous data.
Ophthalmological data and additional disorders could be evaluated in 268 students visiting the special education school Schloßschule Ilvesheim between 2000 and 2008. The findings were compared to the results of previous studies concerning the degree of visual impairment and diagnosis. The children were divided according to German social law into blind, severely visually handicapped and visually handicapped.
Out of the 268 students 83 (31.0%) were premature infants and 69 of these had additional disabilities, 130 were blind and 51 severely visually handicapped. Of the students 142 had additional learning, mental and/or motor handicaps. The most frequent cause of blindness or severe visual impairment was optic nerve atrophy (36.2 % and 37.3 %, respectively). The frequency of hereditary retinal diseases among the blind children was slightly higher with 24.6 % as compared to the data analysis from 1981 and was 15.7 % and 17.1 % among the severely visually handicapped and visually handicapped, respectively. Retinopathy of prematurity was diagnosed in approximately 20% of blind and severely visually handicapped children.
As a result of the enormous advances of medical capabilities during the last decades the number of (formerly) premature infants has markedly increased. Most of these students are multiply handicapped and need extensive assistance. While the number of students suffering from hereditary retinal diseases was only minimally increasing during the last 40 years, the number of blind students without additional disabilities has decreased due to the improved technical means to integrate even blind students into main-stream schools.
自1868年以来，海德堡大学眼科一直为德国伊尔费斯海姆盲人和视力障碍儿童学校的学生提供护理。先前关于视力低下原因的研究表明，医学和眼科的进步产生了影响，炎症性角膜疾病的数量明显减少，随后患有先天性白内障和青光眼的学生数量也减少了。本研究的目的是评估当前数据并将其与先前数据进行比较。
2000年至2008年间，对访问伊尔费斯海姆城堡学校特殊教育学校的268名学生的眼科数据和其他疾病进行了评估。将这些结果与先前关于视力损害程度和诊断的研究结果进行比较。根据德国社会法律，这些儿童被分为盲人、严重视力障碍和视力障碍。
在268名学生中，83名（31.0%）是早产儿，其中69名有其他残疾，130名失明，51名严重视力障碍。142名学生有其他学习、心理和/或运动障碍。失明或严重视力障碍的最常见原因是视神经萎缩（分别为36.2%和37.3%）。与1981年的数据分析相比，盲童中遗传性视网膜疾病的发生率略高，为24.6%，在严重视力障碍和视力障碍儿童中分别为15.7%和17.1%。约20%的盲人和严重视力障碍儿童被诊断为早产儿视网膜病变。
由于过去几十年医疗能力的巨大进步，（以前的）早产儿数量显著增加。这些学生大多有多重残疾，需要广泛的帮助。虽然在过去40年中，患有遗传性视网膜疾病的学生数量仅略有增加，但由于技术手段的改进，即使是盲生也能融入主流学校，没有其他残疾的盲生数量有所减少。
