SummaryA questionnaire and telephone survey was carried out on a Scottish population of patients with impaired vision, in order to ascertain the proportion of patients who gain benefit from Low Vision. Aids (LVA) and to determine the number of LVAs which are retained but unused. One third of the patients who answered the question naire never use their LVAs, and one half were not satisfied with the service provided.A cost analysis indicated that approximately (£) 8,000 worth of LVAs are neither used nor returned each year to a single LVA service. The patients' ages, diagnoses, and visual acuities were related to the compliance rate. It appears that increasing age and decreasing visual acuity may be factors which decrease compliance. However none of the factors analysed could be used as a reliable predictor of patient satisfac tion or of eventual benefit. Other health services which provide intensive training in the use of LV As reportedly achieve a higher level of compliance. We conclude that our present service could probably be improved by the employment of additional staff specifically trained to teach patients how to make best use of the LVAs provided.

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Optochiasmal arachnoiditis has been reported following treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms, particularly arising from the anterior communicating artery. It has been suggested that the accompanying loss of vision is due to a muslin-induced optic neuropathy. This paper considers five cases of this condition; the response to steroid therapy was beneficial in three cases. A review of the literature is included. The arachnoiditis is considered to be due to an inflammatory response to muslin gauze placed close to the optic nerves and chiasm.