Abstract
Purpose :
Purpose: Refractive error is a common cause of visual impairment in the pediatric population. However, ophthalmic examinations are often missed in the siblings of patients, particular in families with limited access to tertiary care centers (whether due to distance, transportation, or financial factors).
Methods :
Methods: A cross-sectional study investigated children of ages of 1–15 years under a project on Systematic Pediatric Eye Care through Sibling Screening Strategies (SPECSSS project) coming to 9 vision/satellite centers of Aravind Eye Hospital, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. After the complete ophthalmic examination of the proband[NN1] , the details of siblings were noted by the project coordinator and parents were given a sibling referral card. Spectacles were provided free of charge to siblings with refractive errors. 913 probands (aged 1-15 years) were included, with spherical equivalent (SE) of -0.5 diopters (D) or worse(only myopes). Referral cards were given to the 441 siblings aged 1-15 years of the probands.
The detailed ophthalmic examination, visual acuity, child’s current academic status, and parental education levels, occupations, and income levels were recorded.
Results :
Results: Only 382 proband-sibling pairs came for the follow-up visit of the 441 provided referral cards. The mean spherical equivalent of the probands was -2.5 D (SD 1.5 D) mean spherical equivalent for siblings was -1.5 (SD 0.75D). The mean age of probands was years 10 ± 2.5 years, while the mean age of sibling was 8 ± 2.2 years. Most of the parents (95%) had lower than high school education. Refractive error was present in 30% of siblings examined and the most common form of refractive error seen in siblings was compound myopic astigmatism.
Conclusions :
Conclusion: Rates of sibling follow-up for ophthalmic examination among probands included in the SPECSSS project were low, despite the presence of refractive error in 30% of the siblings who did present for examination. This low rate of follow-up may be attributable to parental education level and access to tertiary care centers.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.