THURSDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Early screening and
detection of amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye," may improve
visual outcomes for children, a study by Alaskan researchers
suggests.
They found that children who screen positive for amblyopia
before age 2 seem to have better outcomes than children whose
amblyopia is detected between the ages of 2 and 4.
The researchers at Ophthalmic Associates in Anchorage compared
post-treatment outcomes in 36 children who were screened before age
2 and 58 children who were screened between 2 and 4.
"Despite similar levels of amblyogenic risk factors, the
proportion of children failing to reach a visual acuity of 20/40
was significantly less among those screened before 2 years [5
percent] than in those screened from ages older than 2 years and
younger than 4 years [17 percent]," the study authors wrote.
"Very early photoscreening yields better visual outcomes in
amblyopia treatment compared with later photoscreening in
preschool-aged children," they concluded.
The study was published in the April issue of the
Archives of Ophthalmology.
Typical screening for amblyopia consists of visual acuity
screening (patients are asked to read letters on a chart) and an
examination to detect cataracts, problems with eye alignment and
other risk factors for amblyopia, according to background
information in the study.
In conventional visual acuity testing, children need to be old
enough to cover one eye and read visual charts. For younger
children, objective screening for risk factors and newer techniques
involving taking photographs of the eye (photoscreening) can be
used.
More information
The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia has more about
amblyopia.
