Diagnostic Agents in the Pediatric Eye Examination

In this chapter, the author reviews the most common topical ophthalmic drops for diagnostic use in a pediatric eye exam. Topical diagnostic agents have become an integral part of an ocular health examination even in infants and young children. Topical local anesthetics are commonly used for eye procedures such as tonometry, gonioscopy, and minor office procedures. The proper use of mydriatic drugs allows clinicians to identify and diagnose various ocular abnormalities that might otherwise go undetected. Cycloplegic refraction is a reliable procedure to determine the true refractive status of patients with accommodative esotropia, pseudomyopia, and latent hyperopia. Cycloplegic refraction is also useful in non-communicative or uncooperative patients and when a functional vision problem is suspected such as when visual acuities do not correlate with symptoms or clinical expecteds. Many times, diagnostic drops can help a clinician be more confident of the patient's clinical findings.

Comparison of Longitudinal Changes in Refractive Error of Hyperopic Children with or without Refractive Accommodative Esotropia

We investigated longitudinal changes in the spherical equivalent refractive error (SE) in hyperopic children with or without refractive accommodative esotropia (AccET). A total of 456 patients met the inclusion criteria: 190 (41.7%) in the hyperopic control group and 266 (58.3%) in the AccET group. All patients received at least 3 years of follow-up after spectacle prescription. Subgroups were divided according to age when spectacles were prescribed, presence of amblyopia, or initial SE. Longitudinal changes in SE in children with hyperopia showed a gradual decrease, although SE of younger children with AccET increased over the first 4 years and then decreased thereafter. SE in eye with higher SE was tended to decrease significantly in patient with Acc ET than hyperopic control group (group × time p = 0.015). Amblyopic eyes showed a greater decreased in SE compared with non-amblyopic eyes, but it was not statistically significant (p = 0.07). SE was significantly decreased in children with more hyperopia (≥ 3 D) compared with children with less hyperopia (<3 D) (p = 0.008). Emmetropization of hyperopia was faster in hyperopic patients without AccET and could be affected by the age of the initial spectacles prescription, initial amount of SE, or presence of amblyopia.

Characteristics of Patients with Accommodative Esotropia Who Need Glasses for Stable Alignment after Myopic Shift

Purpose: We analyzed the characteristics of patients with refractive accommodative esotropia (RAET) who required glasses for stable alignment after a myopic shift.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients diagnosed with RAET at the initial visit, and who had developed a myopic shift in both eyes over the 5-year follow-up period. To evaluate clinical factors associated with the persistence of esotropia after myopia, the enrolled patients were divided into two groups; patients with RAET who needed glasses for stable alignment after a myopic shift (unstable group) and patients with RAET whose esotropia resolved after a myopic shift (stable group).Results: A total of 55 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean follow-up period was 13.8 ± 5.7 years (5-27 years). Spherical equivalent (SE) refractive errors at the initial visit were +3.1 ± 1.6 diopters (D) (+1.00 to +7.25 D) and -1.5 ± 0.9 D (-4.38 to -0.5 D) at the last visit. Of the 55 RAET patients, 24 were included in the unstable group and 31 were included in the stable group. No significant differences in gender, age at diagnosis, SE refractive error, or angle of esotropia with glasses were observed between the two groups. However, significantly more patients failed the Lang I test or had anisometropia over 1.5 D at the last visit, and the duration between the onset of esotropia and prescribing glasses was significantly longer in the unstable group than in the stable group.Conclusions: Glasses may be needed for stable alignment even after a myopic shift in RAET patients with long durations of misalignment, poor stereopsis, and anisometropia.