Internet amblyopia screening test reliable in early study

ANAHEIM, Calif. — An amblyopia screening test administered through the Internet has high sensitivity and specificity, according to a study presented here at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

Evelyn A. Paysse, MD, presented the results from a cohort of pediatric patients who were tested for amblyopia at Baylor College of Medicine with the Internet Amblyopia Screening Test (IAT), followed by a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination. Visual acuity results and detection of amblyogenic risk factors were compared.

The IAT is a two-part screening test. In the first phase, 14 questions are administered to patients’ parents about their child’s visual abilities and refractive errors, if any. In phase two, children sit 3 feet from a computer monitor and identify letters of a size corresponding to 20/40 acuity. Any child who does not properly identify three of four letters in the test fails the vision screening portion of the examination.

The researchers discovered that sensitivity for both portions of the test together was not remarkably good. However, when based on just the vision screening portion of the exam, sensitivity was 94% and specificity was 86%, with a positive predictive value of 83% and negative predictive value of 95%.

While these outcomes are encouraging, the study authors said, the IAT must be administered to a healthy juvenile population to further assess the accuracy of the examination.