Question

When the nurse documents the results of a Snellen vision test as 20/80 vision, the client asks the nurse to describe what these numbers mean. Which statement is the appropriate response?

A. "You can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 80 feet."
B. "You can see at 80 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 20 feet."
C. "You have 80% vision compared to a person with normal vision."
D. "Your vision is 20 times worse than a person with normal vision."

Answer 1

The correct interpretation of a Snellen vision test result of 20/80 is that the individual can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision sees at 80 feet. The nurse should respond with option A to explain this to the client.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a nurse documents the results of a Snellen vision test as 20/80 vision, the correct way to understand these numbers is that a person with such vision can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 80 feet. Therefore, the appropriate response to give the client would be option A: "You can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 80 feet." This result is a rough generalization of the visual acuity of a person based on normal accepted acuity which uses a Snellen chart that presents standard Roman letters in lines of decreasing size. The line that subtends a visual angle of 5 minutes of an arc at 20 feet represents the smallest letters that a person with normal acuity should be able to read. Compare this to someone with 20/80 vision; they would need to be closer at 20 feet to read the same line that a person with normal vision could read from 80 feet away.