title: A comparison of tests to determine acuity deficits in children with amblyopia.
abstract: The usefulness of the Cardiff Acuity Test in the detection of amblyopia was evaluated. Visual function was measured using pattern visual evoked potentials (VEPs), the Cardiff test, and the Bailey-Lovie Chart in 21 visually normal children and 12 children with amblyopia. The Cardiff test gave higher scores than the Bailey-Lovie test. The Cardiff test identified five of the 12 children who were classified as amblyopic by the Bailey-Lovie test. Interocular VEP latency differences identified eight of the 12 children with amblyopia; interocular VEP amplitudes correctly identified nine. We suggest that the challenging Bailey-Lovie test be used for older children who know their letters well. If the Bailey-Lovie test cannot be used, VEPs give the most accurate assessment of interocular differences. The Cardiff test holds a bored child's attention and allows the examiner to obtain a useful measure of visual acuity, but it cannot detect mild amounts of amblyopia.
authors.affiliation: Visual Electrophysiology Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital For Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Geer
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Westall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D006801:Humans; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014792:Visual Acuity