More evidence supporting efficacy of photoscreening in preventing amblyopia-related vision loss

This retrospective chart review included 125 preschool children with amblyopia identified from a photoscreening program. Treatment regimens included spectacles, patching, and/or atropine penalization. Successful treatment was defined as ≥3 Snellen lines improvement in visual acuity and/or 20/30 visual acuity in the amblyopic eye in literate children, and 20/30 or better visual acuity in the amblyopic eye in initially preliterate children.

Of 901 children evaluated after being referred from photoscreening, 551 had amblyopiogenic risk factors without amblyopia, 185 were diagnosed with amblyopia, and 165 were false positives. Of 185 children with amblyopia, 125 met inclusion criteria for analysis and 78 percent (97 of 125) were successfully treated, with 74 percent attaining 20/40 vision in the amblyopic eye, 58 percent attaining 20/30 vision, and 11 percent attaining 20/20 vision.

The authors concluded that this high treatment success rate further supports the effectiveness of preschool photoscreening in the prevention of amblyopia-related vision loss.