Introduction. Screening preschool aged children for vision problems such as amblyopia, strabismus, and significiant refractive error is an important component of preventive pediatric health care. Methods to do so have evolved and improved greatly in recent years, with the addition of new visual acuity and stereopsis tests. This study compares the testability of five of these new procedures.
Methods. 117 children from five Vision In Preschooler’s Study clinical centers were tested on the Random Dot E, Stereo Smile, Preschool Randot Stereotest, BVAT Letters, and Lea Symbols according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Proportions of children testable by each test and of testable children passing each test were compared using statistical methods accommodating the multiple measurements per child.
Results.
Test % Testable Random Dot E 71% Stereo Smile 77% Preschool Randot 62% BVAT 68% Lea Symbols 73%
Testability was greater for the Stereo Smile than Preschool Randot test (p=.005); the difference between the Random Dot E and Preschool Randot was not significant (p=.09). There were no significant differences among the proportion passing the test among children testable for each test (p > .20, all comparisons). For the two acuity tests, testability was similar. The mean BVAT acuity was 0.21 logMar (2 lines) better than the Lea acuity (p<.001; paired t-test).
Conclusions. In this pilot study, reasonably good testability of children 3 to 3.5 years of age was found for each of the tests. The good testability compared to older techniques makes the tests suitable for use with preschool children.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the discussion, the participant will be able to 1) evaluate current procedures available for preschool vision screening, 2) understand the rationale for the use of those procedures, 3) apply that knowledge to the development of a preschool aged vision screening program for their particular community needs. During the session, the presenter will discuss the testability of five new procedures for preschool vision screening, the rationale for their use, and how those individual procedures fit into a comprehensive framework for designing and carrying out preschool vision screening in the primary care health environment and in the community
Keywords: Vision Care, Screening Instruments
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.