Accuracy and Efficiency of Orthoptists in Comprehensive Pediatric Eye Examinations

To investigate the level of agreement between orthoptists and medical practitioners in the comprehensive eye examination of children seen in an orthoptist-led triage clinic.

Patient records over a 6-month period were retrospectively reviewed. Those with a presenting complaint related to vision or ocular motility were triaged into the orthoptist-led clinic and included in the study. Patients who did not meet the triage protocol and those who were not assessed by a medical practitioner at a subsequent appointment were excluded from analysis. The clinical findings from the orthoptist and medical practitioner were collected and compared.

In total, sixty-three patients were reviewed during the 6-month period and met the inclusion criteria. After the initial comprehensive eye examination with an orthoptist, thirty-two were discharged from hospital and thirty-one were asked to return for a review appointment with a medical practitioner. Agreement between the orthoptists and medical practitioners for the diagnosis of strabismus and/or amblyopia was 84.6% (κ = 0.649, P < 0.001). There was strong agreement between orthoptists and medical practitioners for refractive error of the right eye [τ (19) = 0.352, P = 0.729] and left eye [τ (19) = 1.785, P = 0.090]. Fundus examination comparisons between the orthoptists and medical practitioners showed very high agreement (95.7%).

Orthoptists have the skills necessary to provide comprehensive care of children referred for ocular motility and/or vision related disorders. There was close agreement between orthoptists and medical practitioners when performing comprehensive eye examinations.