Abstract
Purpose :
To reduce the disease burden and increase early detection of amblyopia, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends at least one vision screening for all children aged 3 to 5 years. The UCI EyeMobile for Children Program is a mobile community vision screening program designed to detect amblyopia or its risk factors in preschool children, and provide further eye care services including referral to ophthalmology if needed. We performed retrospective chart review to determine the effectiveness of our screening device in detecting amblyopia or its risk factors.
Methods :
Children aged 30 to 72 months from 37 Orange County preschools underwent vision screening at their schools during the 2019 - 2020 school year. All screenings were conducted with the PlusoptiX S12C by two trained screeners using ROC 3 referral criteria. Children who failed the vision screening were given an appointment for a comprehensive eye examination on the UCI EyeMobile. Excluded from this group were those students absent from the school on the dates screening took place and those who had not provided signed consent forms. Amblyopia RF were determined using 2013 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Vision Screening Committee Guidelines.
Results :
A total of 5,226 children were screened during the 2019 - 2020 school year. 10.4% (546/5226) failed the photoscreening. 27.3% (149/546) were no-shows. 397 children were seen by an optometrist, of which 246 received complete comprehensive examinations including cycloplegic retinoscopy. 149 of these children were found to have at least one ARF, corresponding to a device positive predictive value (PPV) of 60.6% for detecting ambylogenic risk factors in the dilated group. Of the 151 children who were examined but did not undergo cycloplegic retinoscopy, 61 were found to have at least one ARF, corresponding to a PPV of 40.4% in the undilated group. The PPV for all 397 children examined was 52.9%.
Conclusions :
Vision screening is crucial for the early detection and treatment of ambylopia. With a PPV of 52.9% for the detection of ambylopia and its risk factors, the PlusoptiX S12C is an adequate screening device for our program. We will consider modifying the device referral criteria as other studies have demonstrated this may lead to increased specificity and PPV.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.