Visual Status among Nepalese Civilian Pilots

Introduction: Vision assessment is a part of medical examination for pilots. Visual acuity and refraction are performed routinely but binocular vision assessment is rarely performed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the visual status of Nepalese civilian pilots, including binocular vision assessment. Methods: It was a descriptive, cross sectional study conducted among Nepalese pilots. Thirty pilots operating domestic flights and twenty operating international flights, from 7 different airline companies participated in this study. A detailed ophthalmic examination of the pilots was performed by an investigator under the guidance of an Optometrist from January to August 2006. Examinations were conducted at Nepal Airlines Corporation, head office and domestic terminal at Tribhuwan international airport (TIA). The data collected were analyzed to determine presenting visual acuity, refractive error and binocular vision of pilots. Results: Among 50 pilots, 88% of pilots had presenting visual acuity within normal limits (6/6 binocularly) as normal requirement set by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). Pilots having significant refractive errors were 32%. Other visual symptoms related were present in 16% of pilots. Only one case had intermittent exotropia (IXT) and exophoria was present in 15 (30%) pilots among which 3 (6%) had deviation between 4-8 prism diopters. Conclusion: About 90% of Nepalese civilian pilots had normal visual acuity as defined by civil aviation authority of Nepal (CAAN). However, few pilots had some form of binocular vision disorders which could easily be im3proved by vision therapy.