[The Frequency of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment at the Kiel University Eye Clinic in 1914, 1939/40, 1956/57, and 1967].

BACKGROUND

As causes for the increasing incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD) during the past 20 years, primarily demographic changes and the increasing incidence of myopia and cataract surgery, especially in younger patients, are considered.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to create an inventory of cases of RD treated at the Kiel University Eye Clinic before the era of pseudophakia and vitrectomy.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Archival patient records of the Kiel University Eye Clinic for 1914, 1939/40, 1956/57, and 1967 were reviewed, and the identified cases of nontraumatic RD were analyzed.

RESULTS

In 1914, three documented cases of RD were found, but there was no documented surgery. Between 1939 and 1967, the number of documented RD cases increased (from 2% to 6.3%), as did the percentage of successfully operated patients (from 44.4% to 70.6%). For the year 1967, the mean age of the patients was 60.12 years, which aligns with published data for the period from 2005 to 2019. Concerning the main catchment area of Kiel University Eye Clinic, an incidence of 5.78 cases of RD per 100,000 persons years was found. Upon discharge from the hospital after RD surgery, visual acuity (VA) was measured as follows: 27.3% of patients had a VA of 1/50 or less, 55.3% had a VA between > 1/50 and 0.33, 8.7% had a VA between > 0.33 and 0.7, and 8.7% had a VA greater than 0.7.

CONCLUSION

This medicohistorical study shows an incidence of inpatient RD prior to 1970 which corresponds to that found in the literature for the 1970s. As the medical, demographic, and sociological circumstances existing in 1970 are not comparable to those of the present, the number of undocumented cases of RD in 1970 is considered to be higher than is it today; therefore, only limited conclusions can be drawn regarding the overall incidence of RD at that time and regarding the question of whether RD has increased over time. Nevertheless, this study depicts the development of diagnosis and treatment of RD at the Kiel University Eye Clinic until the end of the 1960s, supplemented by aspects of medical sociology.