Screening for amblyopia

1 August 2019 | Fiona Rowe (Prof) | Paediatric Ophthalmology / Strabismus

The purpose was to determine the validity of the OPTEC 5500 vision screener in detecting visual acuity and amblyopia in paediatric patients aged 3-17 years with comparison to the Lea and Snellen tests. This was a cross-section study of 64 patients. In the age group of <7 years, OPTEC had a sensitivity of 75% and 72.2% for right and left eyes; specificity of 100% and 78.6%; positive predictive value of 100% and 81.3%; negative predictive value of 57.1% and 68.8%; and accuracy of 81.3% and 75% for right and left eyes. At ages >8 years, sensitivity was 79.3% and 87.5%; specificity of 100% and 100%; positive predictive values of 100% and 100%; negative predictive values of 40% and 75%; and accuracy of 81.8% and 90.9% for right and left eyes. Overall for all ages, sensitivity was 77.4% and 81%; specificity of 100% and 87%; positive predictive values of 100% and 91.9%; negative predictive values of 50% and 71.4%; and accuracy of 81.5% and 83.1% for right and left eyes. The authors conclude that OPTEC had a below average sensitivity compared to other screening devices but a high specificity in all ages. They advise further studies to assess the device in general paediatric populations and to explore other options for paediatric vision screening devices.