Pediatric Vision Screener detects strabismus, anisometropia

A screening program has “potential” to identify ocular diseases in preschool children, according to a study.

Deborah S. Nassif, PhD, and colleagues analyzed the clinical performance of the Pediatric Vision Screener in a pediatric ophthalmology office setting of 77 subjects between the ages of 2 and 18. All patients underwent gold standard orthoptic examinations.

Subjects were tested with the sceener after being classified at risk for either condition. The screener then produced a pass or refer recommendation based on a binocularity score. The sceener also produced a yield score to indicate the subject’s interest in the target, the study stated.

Binocularity, as determined by the screener, was greater than 65% for all controls and less than 20% for all subjects with constant strabismus. Binocularity ranged from 0% to 52% in subjects with variable strabismus. Subjects with anisometropia and without strabismus had binocularity scores less than 10%, the researchers said.

The study was published in Archives of Ophthalmology.