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Estimation of strabismic amblyopia by small-sized concentric gratings in preverbal children
1Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, C Colmenar, Madrid, Spain. jtejedor.hrc@salud.madrid.org
Insights
Small-sized Concentric Gratings offer a better way to assess amblyopia depth in strabismus for young children. This visual acuity test is more effective than traditional linear gratings in clinical settings.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Optometry
- Visual Neuroscience
Background:
- Strabismic amblyopia is a common cause of reduced vision in children.
- Accurate assessment of amblyopia depth is crucial for effective treatment.
- Preferential looking tests are used to measure visual acuity in preverbal children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of small-sized Concentric Gratings (CG) in assessing strabismic amblyopia.
- To compare CG with classic linear gratings, specifically Teller Acuity Cards (TAC).
- To determine the correlation between CG, TAC, and fixation preference testing score (FPTS) in preverbal and verbal children.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-three preverbal children with esotropia underwent visual acuity testing using CG and TAC.
- Fixation preference testing score (FPTS) was obtained.
- Follow-up assessments and testing in verbal children were conducted, comparing CG, TAC, and Glasgow Acuity Cards (GAC).
Main Results:
- CG showed a significantly better correlation with FPTS than TAC in preverbal children (0.7 vs 0.49, P=0.04).
- In treated and untreated verbal children, CG demonstrated a stronger correlation with GAC (0.90 and 0.89, respectively) compared to TAC (0.64 and 0.67).
Conclusions:
- Small-sized Concentric Gratings procedure enhances the detection and estimation of amblyopia depth in strabismus.
- CG is a more effective preferential looking test than classic linear gratings for assessing visual acuity in children with strabismus.
Purpose:
Evaluate the ability to assess strabismic amblyopia of small-sized Concentric Gratings in comparison with classic linear gratings preferential looking test.
Methods:
Thirty-three preverbal children (age 6-30 months) with esotropia were tested for monocular visual acuity, using small-sized Concentric Gratings (target size 1.6, in 1/3 octave steps) and the Teller Acuity Cards. A fixation preference testing score was also obtained. In 17 of these children, 1-3 years later, after treatment of amblyopia and strabismus, fixation preference testing score, and visual acuity with Teller Acuity Cards, Concentric Gratings, and Glasgow Acuity Cards were measured. In 24 additional verbal untreated strabismic children (age 39-48 months), the same procedures were used. Correlations between interocular acuity difference of each preferential looking test and the Glasgow Acuity Cards were compared. Correlations between interocular acuity difference of each preferential looking procedure and fixation preference testing score were also compared.
Results:
Concentric Gratings procedure was correlated significantly better than Teller Acuity Cards with fixation preference testing score (0.7 and 0.49, respectively), in the preverbal group (P=0.04). In treated verbal children, correlation of Concentric Gratings and Glasgow Acuity Cards (0.90) was stronger (P=0.06) than correlation of Teller Acuity Cards and Glasgow Acuity Cards (0.64). In untreated verbal children, correlation of Concentric Gratings and Glasgow Acuity Cards (0.89) was stronger (P=0.045) than correlation of Teller Acuity Cards and Glasgow Acuity Cards (0.67).
Conclusions:
The small-sized Concentric Gratings procedure improves detection and estimation of amblyopia depth in strabismus when compared with classic linear gratings.
