Tayyab Afghani.
Preschool Vision Screening - An Analysis of Screening of 16, 592 Preschoolers.
Pak J Ophthalmol Jan ;14(2):62-8.

Amblyopia and strabismus require treatment early in life for best visual results. At present many such children are treated late or not at all. Mass screening at preschool age appears the only viable solution to this problem. We carried out village-to- village screening of 16,592 preschool children in a rural area. Anterior segment examination and rapid retinoscopy, together with visual acuity checking with Snellen test types, where possible, were utilized as screening tools. The coverage rate was more than 80%. The results show that 22% of these children had some sort of ocular problem, while 3.27% suffered from potentially blinding conditions like amblyopia, refractive error, squint etc. Comparative analysis shows that there is significant underdetection of amblyopia and squint in this group. At the moment preschool screening does not seem to produce desired results. In order to assess this matter, various vision screening methods appropriate for preschoolers or infants based on current evidence are reviewed.

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