title: Screening for refractive errors in 6-9 month old infants by photorefraction.
abstract: The method of isotropic photorefraction has been used in a trial of refractive screening of 6-9 month old infants. Data are presented on the calibration of the method against retinoscopic measurements and its reliability. In photorefractive screening of 1096 infants under cyclopentolate cycloplegia 5% were found to be hypermetropic (over +3.5 D), 4.5% myopic, and 1.3% anisometropic (over 1 D). These refractive errors were confirmed on retinoscopic follow-up (with the exception of a few anisometropes). Follow-up of controls shows that one small refractive error was missed in 52 infants. We conclude that photorefraction is a valid and practical screening technique. Longitudinal study of infants with refractive errors will assess the value of early detection, in particular for prediction and prevention of strabismus.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002138:Calibration; D004739:England; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods*; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000379:methods*