CRITICAL ISSUES IN THE USE AND ANALYSIS OF THE LANTHONY DESATURATE COLOR-VISION TEST

The Lanthony Desaturate Color Vision test (D-15d) has been used to dem onstrate the incidence of acquired color vision defects resulting from toxic exposure. The D-15d is a sensitive test designed to grade color deficiencies, but results can be difficult to interpret beyond the qu alitative level, and the high incidence of errors reported for control s in some toxicology studies raises questions about how to effectively use this test. This article reviews standard administration of the te st, physical determinants of performance, classification of acquired c olor vision defects, and methods of analysis that have been used to qu antify results. The basis for a new method of analysis is discussed, i llustrating the source of some characteristic errors, and recommendati ons are made for test protocols to attempt to more closely identify th e type of color vision loss with the goal of identifying the site of t oxicological insult. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.