Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the refractive status of young Saudi schoolchildren with a "Spot Screener." Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to July 2016 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Children of kindergarten (3-5 years) and grades 1 and 2 (6-7 years) were screened for refractive error (RE) using the handheld Spot Screener (Welch Allyn, Skaneateles Falls, NY, USA). Data were collected on age, gender, and spectacle use. The pass/fail notation from the Spot Screener and the RE were documented. Children with a "fail" were re-tested with an autorefractor (AR). The rate of agreement was evaluated for the spherical equivalent (SE) from the Spot Screener and AR. Results: We examined 300 schoolchildren and 114 preschool children. The prevalence of RE was 22% in schoolchildren and 25% in preschoolers. There were 183 (61%) hyperopes, 110 (36.7%) myopes, 6 (2%) emmetropes, and 29 (9.7%) astigmats (>2 D cylinder) in grade 1 and 2. There were 85 (74.6%) hyperopes, 22 (19.3%) myopes, 7 (6.1%) emmetropes, and 10 (8.8%) astigmats among preschoolers. The SE differed between the AR and the Spot Screener in 17 (28%) children of 61 failed Spot Screener tests. Accommodation (9, 53%) and high astigmatism (8, 47%) were the main underlying causes of the difference. The Spot Screener could identify RE for the first time in 51 (17%) schoolchildren and 26 (22%) preschoolers. End-users suggested that Spot Screener was child-friendly and quick to test RE. Conclusions: The Spot Screener could be a good initial screening tool for RE in young schoolchildren.
Keywords
Publication details
- DOI
- 10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017
- Journal
- Oman Journal of Ophthalmology, 12(2), 114-118
- Publisher
- Medknow Publications
- Open access
- Gold open access
Cite this article
APA 7
Yasir, Z. H., Almadhi, N., Tarabzouni, S., Alhommadi, A., & Khandekar, R. (2019). Refractive error of Saudi children enrolled in primary school and kindergarten measured with a spot screener. Oman Journal of Ophthalmology, 12(2), 114-118. https://doi.org/10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017
MLA 9
Yasir, Ziaul Haq, et al. "Refractive error of Saudi children enrolled in primary school and kindergarten measured with a spot screener." Oman Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 12, no. 2, 2019, pp. 114-118. https://doi.org/10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017.
Chicago (author–date)
Yasir, Ziaul Haq, Nada Almadhi, Salma Tarabzouni, Abdulrahman Alhommadi, and Rajiv Khandekar. 2019. "Refractive error of Saudi children enrolled in primary school and kindergarten measured with a spot screener." Oman Journal of Ophthalmology 12 (2): 114-118. https://doi.org/10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017.
Harvard
Yasir, Z. H., Almadhi, N., Tarabzouni, S., Alhommadi, A. and Khandekar, R. (2019) 'Refractive error of Saudi children enrolled in primary school and kindergarten measured with a spot screener', Oman Journal of Ophthalmology, 12(2), pp. 114-118. doi:10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017.
Vancouver
Yasir ZH, Almadhi N, Tarabzouni S, Alhommadi A, Khandekar R. Refractive error of Saudi children enrolled in primary school and kindergarten measured with a spot screener. Oman Journal of Ophthalmology. 2019;12(2):114-118. doi:10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017
IEEE
Z. H. Yasir, N. Almadhi, S. Tarabzouni, A. Alhommadi, and R. Khandekar, "Refractive error of Saudi children enrolled in primary school and kindergarten measured with a spot screener," Oman Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 114-118, 2019, doi: 10.4103/ojo.ojo_62_2017.