Vision screening of preschool children in Riyadh

ABSTRACT

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%]