Vision screening of preschool children in Riyadh

A total of 860 children attending preschools and nurseries in Riyadh and aged between 3 and 6 years were screened for various visual parameters relating to strabismus and amblyopia. Saudi nationals constituted 69% of the subjects, the other 31% originating mainly from the surrounding Middle Eastern countries. Of the total 860 children examined, 59 were referred to a hospital for further evaluation, representing a referral rate of 6.86%. Of these 59 children, 51 were actually examined at the hospital; 23 were found, upon detailed examination, to be within normal limits. The remaining 28 had positive ocular findings, including amblyopia [in 22 children, representing a prevalence of 2.6% in the total sample], refractive error [16 children = 1.9%], and strabismus [10 children = 1.2%]. The prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia in the tested children is essentially similar to that reported in the literature; that of refractive error does not reflect real levels in the population since refraction was only performed on those children who were seen at the hospital. There was an unusually high prevalence of ptosis in the examined sample [0.6%]

Bimedial recession versus recession-resection for intermediate angle esotropia: a comparison of results

A retrospective study of 169 consecutive patients with comitant esotropia, selected according to certain criteria, was conducted to compare the results of bilateral medial rectus recession [BMR] with those of unilateral medial rectus recession plus lateral rectus resection [R-R]. Only patients who had not previous strabismus surgery, had no neurological dysfunction, amblyopia, or ocular or anatomical pathology or restrictive components, and whose angles of deviation, with correction, fell within the range of 25 to 45 prism diopters [delta D] at distance were included. Surgery was defined as successful if there was 10 delta D or less deviation from orthotropia [at distance, with correction] at least one year postoperatively. Using this definition, rates of success of the two procedures were comparable, averaging 71% for BMR and 77% for R - R; on the other hand, 5% of patients in the BMR group and 7% in the R - R group retained a deviation in excess of 20 delta D. BMR was also statistically superior in improving distance-near disparity and was associated with a lower rate of postoperative complications not related to alignment