Early detection of strabismus, amblyopia, and refractive errors is important in preschool children as early intervention may result in more successful treatment outcomes. vision screenings could provide an efficient method for the early detection of these visual anomalies, but currently, few preschool children receive any type of vision screening. The effectiveness of currently used screening methods is questionable since the prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia found in these screenings is lower than estimates from the general population. This poor sensitivity may be due to the screening methods currently used with preschool children. Eccentric photorefraction has been suggested as a method for screening preschool children as the refractive results correlate strongly with retinoscopy findings and ocular alignment can also be assessed. Before photorefraction can be implemented as a screening method for preschool children, its effectiveness (specificity and sensitivity) must be determined. The proposed study will investigate the effectiveness of eccentric photorefraction as a screening tool in preschool children as compared to other currently used screening techniques (Modified Clinical Technique and the Random Dot E) and the complete vision examination.
| Fern, K D; Manny, R E; Garza, R (1998) Screening for anisometropia in preschool children. Optom Vis Sci 75:407-23 |
