This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
InfantSee exam findings: refractive error most common
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
LAS VEGAS – Results of infant visual assessments for the first 6 months of the InfantSee program were reported here at Optometry’s Meeting Friday.
Celebrating its first birthday here at the American Optometric Association (AOA) Congress, InfantSee is a public health program that attempts to identify infants between 6 and 12 months of age who are visually at risk. Participants in this AOA program provide no-cost assessments to infants less than 1 year old.
According to Scott Jens, OD, chair of InfantSee, the assessments determined that 7.1% of infants were identified with a vision condition that was noted as a potential concern. The most common concern was refractive error, which was noted in 5.4% of infants seen. Binocularity potential or eye alignment was the second highest area of concern, observed in 2.4% of the InfantSee assessments. Ocular health was third, with 2.3% of the assessments presenting with this type of problem.
Dr. Jens said that one in 14 infants seen as part of the program required careful follow-up or referral to a specialist. “This really validates the need for this program,” he said. “One in 14 – I don’t think there is a parent in America who wants to take that kind of gamble with their baby.”