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This paper describes the vision screening tests for specialized populations as used by the Community Eye Care Services Program of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Referral criteria have been elaborated. This paper is designed to help those who are interested in organizing such a screening.
A population-based cohort of all children entering kindergarten in a three-year period (N = 2,938) was followed retrospectively from kindergarten through 12th grade to estimate incidence of abnormal school vision screening tests and rates of follow-up by community ophthalmologists or optometrists. Overall 28% of children had at least one abnormal school vision screening test. Abnormal screening with referral increased from 1.2% of five-year-olds to 9.1% of 13-year-olds. Overall, 91% of children referred had further evaluation by eye care professionals. However, visits to an eye care professional often were delayed; median time was 0.8 years for children seeing an ophthalmologist and 1.8 years for children seeing an optometrist. Results support the continued use of simple visual acuity screening in schools. Consideration should be given to screening children beyond age 12 and developing methods to increase the rapidity of parental response to referral recommendations.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between age at presentation of amblyopia and social deprivation before and after the introduction of changes to a vision screening service. DESIGN: Two cohorts of children treated for amblyopia in 1983 and 1992. SETTING: THe orthoptic department of Leicester Royal Infirmary. PARTICIPANTS: The 209 patients treated for amblyopia who first attended the orthoptic department in 1983, and 203 who first attended in 1992. MEASUREMENTS: Age at presentation to the orthoptic department was the main outcome measure. Social deprivation was measured by Townsend deprivation score for the electoral ward in which the child lived, using 1981 and 1991 census data. MAIN RESULTS: After the introduction of changes in the screening programme, the mean at presentation of amblyopia associated with microtropia or no strabismus was reduced from 6.6 years to 5.0 years. In 1983 there was a significant relationship between deprivation and age at presentation (p = 0.0001), with those from more deprived areas presenting later. No similar association was found in children referred in 1992 (p = 0.17). There was no change in mean age of presentation of amblyopia associated with a large angle of strabismus (3.3 years in 1983 and 1992) and no relationship between deprivation and age at presentation 1983 or 1992 (p = 0.24 and p = 0.39 respectively). CONCLUSION: Since the introduction of changes to vision screening, the relationship between social deprivation and the age of presentation of asymptomatic amblyopia seems to have disappeared. Children are now referred earlier and those from deprived areas are not being overlooked.
To determine the effectiveness of vision screening in a primary care setting, we administered a questionnaire and a vision test to 458 patients from a general medical clinic. Subjects were referred for complete ophthalmologic evaluation if they failed the vision test or met other "high-risk" criteria based on information contained in the questionnaire. Patient-initiated requests for eye examinations were also honored. A total of 169 patients were scheduled for eye examinations, and 148 actually underwent ophthalmologic evaluation. One hundred one of those examined were referred on the basis of the study criteria. "Serious eye disease" (cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or age-related macular degeneration) was diagnosed in 96 (95%) of these patients. Prompt surgical intervention was recommended in 27 (27%), and medical treatment was begun in 21 (21%). Of those with serious eye disease, 59% met the criteria by failing the vision test, while 69% met the high-risk criteria determined by the questionnaire. Of the 148 subjects who received ophthalmologic evaluations, 47 requested them. Serious eye disease was diagnosed in 23 (50%) of the 47 patients. None of these individuals required immediate surgery, and medical treatment for glaucoma was begun in eight (17%). These data suggest that screening for serious eye disease in a primary care setting is an efficient mechanism to use for the identification of patients with undetected ocular disorders that require follow-up or treatment.
The comparison of an automatic vision screening machine using the Landolt rings and the usual Snellen Chart was carried out among 123 second grade and 149 fifth grade students in an elementary school in Jerusalem. The sensitivity of the test for a cut-off point of greater than or equal to 6/12 according to the Snellen test was 41.7% (CI = 16.5-71.4) and the specificity was 86.5% (CI 78.1-92.2) for second graders. For fifth graders the values were 50.0% (CI = 20.1-79.9) and 90.6% (CI 83.7-94.8) respectively. Diagnosis by a specialist decreased the number of 'false negatives' and confirmed the pathological cases. The automatic test was well accepted by the children. Though more time is needed for assessment using the automatic test, its advantage is that no professional staff are required.
The New York State Optometric Association (NYSOA) Vision Screening Battery was administered to 1983 grade school children. Complete visual examinations were performed on 125 children. A consensus method for determining a diagnosis was developed and a double-blind paradigm was used to validate the screening battery. The sensitivity was found to be 71.7% and the specificity to be 65%. When compared to the Snellen test, the NYSOA battery is far more sensitive. The Snellen test is 100% specific but misses 75.5% of the children found to have vision problems when given a complete visual examination.
BACKGROUND: More than 100 children between the ages of 5 and 13 years (grades K through 6) were screened with the New York State Optometric Association vision screening battery. METHODS: A comparison between regular and special education referral rates was performed. Two groups of tests were established: acuity testing and functional testing. A comparison of the failure rates of these two groups was also analyzed. RESULTS: This study revealed that although the referral rate between the two populations showed no statistical difference, the particular "group" of tests failed differed significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Although no conclusions can be drawn from these numbers as the sample was not varied enough, further screenings in different geographical and socioeconomic areas need to be performed to determine the validity of this trend.
A previously described vision screening procedure was administered to 652 elementary school children, using lay volunteers. These students were later screened by optometrists, using the Modified Clinical Technique (MCT). Using MCT as the standard, the lay screening correctly identified 90% of the children; the incorrect identifications included 28 children (4.3%) as false negatives and 36 children (5.5%) as false positives. Analysis indicates a lower cost for the combined lay and professional screening than for professional screening alone.
Vision screening tests should include a simple, reliable, and valid test of color vision defects. In this investigation the single plate Farnsworth F-2 test and the AO H-R-R pseudoisochromatic plates were compared as primary screening tests for red-green color defective vision. The tests were administered to 2827 children, kindergarten through high school grades. Both tests failed a higher percentage of children than expected in the lower grades (kindergarten through 3). In grades 4 through high school, however, 4.16% failed the F-2 test and 4.02% failed the AO H-R-R, compared to a predicted 4.2% of the general population with inherited red-green deficiencies. The failure rates of the F-2 test for 1171 high school boys and girls were 7.3 and 0.89%, respectively, very close to the expected incidence of red-green defects in males and females. Although the F-2 test passed a few pupils who failed the AO H-R-R test, their defects were categorized as mild or borderline on the AO H-R-R test and therefore not likely to be of practical significance. Less than 0.5% of the children in grades 4 through high school failed the F-2 test after passing the AO H-R-R. Some children with normal color vision, particularly very young children, may fail the F-2 test because of difficulty picking out the less obvious blue square. Nevertheless, for screening purposes the F-2 test is comparable to the AO H-R-R test and except for kindergarten and grade 1 pupils is an excellent single plate color vision screening test.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
An audit was carried out to clarify the dispute surrounding the vision screening test at 3.5 years. The uptake was 53.5%, sensitivity 77%, specificity 96%, and positive predictive value 50%. In particular the uptake was poor and the test needed a clear policy for the future.
The progress of 108 children who were identified by the vision screening programme in school as having defective vision (excluding those with puberty onset myopia) was reviewed. Treatment of these children resulted in improvement in visual acuity of the worst eye (two lines or better) for 16 children. Eighteen children had severe amblyopia (6/24 or worse). Among these the vision of only five was improved by treatment. Two thirds of the children had refractive errors in the better eye which required correction. It seems sensible to identify and treat children with bilateral refractive errors, but the need to treat children with lesser degrees of amblyopia is questioned.
Three- and 4-year-old children who obtain the minimum failing visual acuity result of one-line difference between eyes in preschool vision screening with isolated optotypes have a high rate of overreferral. We evaluated the Random Dot E Stereotest (RDES) to determine if a passing result at a high threshold on this test, as administered by lay screeners, could safely nullify referral for a minimum failing visual acuity test result. Fifty-eight children with a "one-line difference" result also had the RDES administered to them during screening at distances of 40 cm and 1.5 m. Upon subsequent ophthalmologic examination, 45 of these children were found to be normal, and 13 had abnormal findings. Thirty-nine of the children with normal examinations had correctly passed the RDES at 1.5 m. Seven of the 13 children with abnormal findings had correctly failed the RDES. Thus, the specificity of stereotesting was 87% and the sensitivity was 54%. Among the six children who falsely passed the stereopsis test during screening, best-corrected visual acuity was no worse than 20/40 and no child had greater than a one-line difference in acuity. Therefore, no amblyopia was missed. If a passing result on the stereotest at 1.5 m had been allowed to nullify a one-line difference referral, overreferral would have decreased 87% but underreferral would have increased 46%. We cannot yet recommend modifying current visual acuity referral criteria based on stereopsis testing results until the sensitivity of stereopsis screening by lay screeners at a sufficient threshold is improved.
This study is a sequel to an earlier report on a random vision screening of 651 prekindergarteners and compares the findings of the 35 children who failed this screening with the results and dispositions after retesting. Of the number failed, 32 (91.4%) were accounted for, of whom 28 (80%) were retested and 14 (40%) received no treatment; the other 4 (11.4%) were not retested. A discourse on probable discrepancies between screening and retesting results follows, along with corrective recommendations.
In Kuopio, Finland, vision screening for school children is done by school nurses once every 2 years. All children who have impaired vision, suspected strabismus or heterophoria, suspected eye disease or ocular discomfort, are sent for an eye examination to the ophthalmologist at the Community Health Centre, Kuopio. In 1977 the number of children referred for eye examination was 741 and 1134 in 1984. One hundred consecutive eye examinations were analysed both in 1977 and 1984. There were more girls than boys in both materials: 63 girls and 37 boys in 1977 and 60 girls and 40 boys in 1984. This difference between girls and boys was statistically highly significant in 1977 and significant in 1984. There was no significant difference in age distribution in 1977 and 1984. The largest age group was the 13-year-olds; in 1977 there were 13 and in 1984 22 children in this age group. In 1977, impaired vision (34 children) and in 1984 check-up on glasses (56 children) were the most common reasons for examination. The most usual finding in both years was myopic refraction; 52 cases in 1977 and 58 cases in 1984. It is noteworthy that in 1977 there were 16 children with normal eye examination but in 1984 there were only 6. This difference is almost significant. The cooperation between the ophthalmologist and the school nurses may account for this change.
We have reviewed the results of a pilot study of preschool screening by orthoptists for vision defects which was introduced in Newcastle in 1987. We have compared the visual outcomes, at age 7 years, of children who were screened at age 3 years by either orthoptists, health visitors or general practitioners in three matched, geographically defined cohorts. Manifest, large angle strabismus presented at the same age, and in roughly equal numbers in each cohort. Orthoptic screening detected many more cases of amblyopia associated with microtropia and anisometropia, but the b overall amblyopia prevalence at age 7 years was similar in each cohort. This study does not provide evidence to support the nationwide introduction of primary orthoptic preschool vision screening, and highlights the need for a prospective treatment trial of amblyopia associated with microtropia and anisometropia.
In August 1989, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government officially began a vision screening program for children aged 3 years 1 month. A 1988 pilot study of 1,303 children this age disclosed five cases (0.38%) of amblyopia. The home vision test, which uses picture cards of familiar figures, proved to be an efficient and inexpensive method of screening when incorporated into the existing health-check program for 3-year-old children. In the initial eight months of the program, 21,906 children were screened. Of these, 419 children (1.9%) were referred to an ophthalmologist for follow-up, and amblyopia was detected in 41 children (0.19%).
The validity of vision screening of children for amblyopia, squint and significant degrees of ametropia is reviewed. The suitability of the tests used in screening, the age at which they are applied and the personnel involved is assessed. Some suggestions for improvement are made with particular reference to the optometrist's role, especially in view of the proposed child health surveillance scheme to be undertaken by selected general medical practitioners.
OBJECTIVE: To see if there were differences in referral rates and abnormalities detected from two areas that were operating different preschool vision screening programmes. DESIGN: Cohort study using case notes of referrals. SETTING: Community based secondary referral centres in the county of Avon. PATIENTS: 263 referrals from a child population of 7105 in Southmead district, an area that used orthoptists as primary vision screeners; 111 referrals from a child population of 2977 in Weston-super-Mare, an area that used clinical medical officers for screening. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Amblyopia and squint detection rates, together with false positive referral rates. RESULTS: The amblyopia detection rate in Southmead district was significantly higher than in Weston-super-Mare (11/1000 children v 5/1000), as was the detection rate of squint (11/1000 v 3/1000). However, the false positive referral rate from Southmead was significantly lower than that from Weston-super-Mare (9/1000 v 23/1000). CONCLUSION: Preschool vision screening using orthoptists as primary screeners offers a more effective method of detecting visual abnormalities than using clinical medical officers.