Shah SS, et al. J AAPOS. 2021;doi:10.1016/j.jaapos.2021.03.010.

Shah SS, et al. J AAPOS. 2021;doi:10.1016/j.jaapos.2021.03.010.

A hand-held vision screening device reliably detected amblyopia in a general pediatric population, according to research published in the Journal of AAPOS.

Shaival S. Shah, MD, told Healio/OSN that the study was designed to test the Pediatric Vision Scanner (PVS, REBIScan) in a real-world setting. The device uses a laser probe to detect reduced bifoveal fixation, an early sign of amblyopia, according to the study.

“Three hundred children aged 2 to 6 years with no known eye disorders were recruited during previously scheduled visits to two Kaiser Permanente Southern California pediatric clinics,” Shah said. “Based on the gold standard eye examination, six of these children (2%) had amblyopia and/or strabismus.”

The PVS detected all six cases of amblyopia or strabismus, indicating that it has a sensitivity rate of 100%. The device also referred 45 children (15%) who had normal ophthalmic findings, showing a specificity rate of 85%.

Shah said the device has several benefits, including its fast median screening time of 28 seconds and the ability to use it on children as young as 2 years old.

“It is highly reliable at informing the clinician that amblyopia is not present,” he said. “It did have positive predictive value of 26%, which needs to be considered when deciding one’s vision screening strategy.”

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