Effectiveness of Polaroid Photoscreening for Amblyogenic Fctors in Infants & Young Children

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Amblyopia is the commonest cause of defective vision in childhood. It develops during the sensitive period of visual maturation which continues until about 7-8 years of age. The authors investigated the effect of a polaroid photoscreening camera designed to detect amblyogenic factors, including asymmetric and abnormal refractive errors, strabismus, ptosis and media opacities. METHODS: Fifty-four children aged 3-24 months were evaluated for amblyogenic factors using the polaroid photoscreening carnera from March 1998 to March 1999 in Chungnam National University Children's Hospital. Then each child underwent medical examination by an ophthamologist. Results The mean age was 9.0+/-4.5 months. The results of photoscreening were normal findings of 74.1%, abnormal findings of 25.9%, and slight eccentric fixation in 18 cases, normal findings in 9 cases, peripheral crescents in 13 cases, strabismus in 4 cases, myopia in 5 cases, hyperopia in 2 cases, anisometropia in 2 cases, ptosis in 1 case and reexam in 14 cases. The photoscreener had a sensitivity rate of 81.8%, a specificity rate of 88.4%, a positive predictive value of 64.3% and a negative predictive value of 95.0%. CONCLUSION: Polaroid photoscreening method is an easy, noninvasive and reliable mass screening method of detecting amblyogenic factors in undilated children.