Improving the reliability of visual acuity measures in young children

Whilst the methodology of adult letter acuity measurement has been substantially refined over the last two decades, relatively little development has occurred in methods for quantifying letter acuity in young children. This study compares a recently developed visual acuity test (Glasgow Acuity Cards...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ophthalmic & physiological optics 2000-05, Vol.20 (3), p.173-184
Main Authors: McGraw, Paul V., Winn, Barry, Gray, Lyle S., Elliott, David B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Amblyopia - diagnosis
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Investigative techniques of ocular function and vision
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Vision Tests - methods
Vision Tests - standards
Visual Acuity
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Whilst the methodology of adult letter acuity measurement has been substantially refined over the last two decades, relatively little development has occurred in methods for quantifying letter acuity in young children. This study compares a recently developed visual acuity test (Glasgow Acuity Cards), which incorporates several key design features used in adult test charts to improve the sensitivity and reliability of visual acuity measurements. The equivalence of acuity measurements made with Glasgow Acuity Cards were compared with the Bailey–Lovie logMAR chart and Snellen chart in adults, and with traditional Single Letter Acuity and a modified Single Letter Acuity test in children. The test–retest reliability of acuity measurements made with Glasgow Acuity Cards and the Single Letter Acuity tests were also assessed in a large group of visually normal children. In addition, the ability of the pre-school letter acuity tests to detect differences in acuity between the two eyes, and to detect amblyopia were examined. Ninety-five percent of vision measurements made with the Bailey–Lovie chart and Glasgow Acuity Cards differ by less than 0.07 log unit. Furthermore, the sensitivity of Glasgow Acuity Cards to detecting changes in acuity longitudinally and inter-ocular differences in acuity is considerably greater as compared with traditional Single Letter Acuity tests. Improvements in paediatric acuity chart design are important for the effective detection and management of children with amblyopia.
ISSN:0275-5408
1475-1313
DOI:10.1016/S0275-5408(99)00054-X