Usefulness of computerized visual acuity testing in a pediatric ophthalmology clinic

We investigated the usefulness of a computerized illiterate-E-style acuity test in 111 children ranging in age from 3 to 13 (mean 6.56) years consecutively referred to a large pediatric ophthalmology clinic. Visual acuity was measured in both eyes of each subject by means of conventional testing with an optical projection device and computerized testing with a program run on a microcomputer. Of the 222 eyes 155 (70%) showed no difference in visual acuity between the two procedures. A difference of one acuity line was found for 63 eyes (28%), and a difference of two lines was found for 4 eyes (2%). The conventional test yielded a higher acuity score in 75% of the cases in which a one-line difference was found and 50% of those in which a two-line difference was found. Our results indicate that computerized testing is a valid and effective method of assessing visual acuity in children.