Screening for amblyopia in preverbal children with photoscreening photographs - II. Sensitivity and specificity of the MTI PhotoScreener

Objective: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of vision screening using the Medical Technology and Innovations (MTI), Inc., PhotoScreener. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants and Testing: Three hundred ninety-two children less than 4 yea rs of age received a complete ophthalmologic examination and were photograp hed using the MTI PhotoScreener. One hundred three children had normal exam inations, and the remaining 284 children had conditions of interest for ped iatric screening: ptosis, media opacity, refractive error, or strabismus. F ive children were excluded. Main Outcome Measures: The grading of the photographs by the manufacturer's representative was compared with the results of the ophthalmologic examina tions. Sensitivity and specificity of vision screening were determined. Results: The analysis of all informative photographs resulted in a sensitiv ity of 65% and a specificity of 87%. The sensitivity of detection for child ren with some forms of strabismus was high, up to 95% for esotropia of 10 D elta or more. Sensitivities for the detection of ptosis, media opacity, and refractive error were poor in patients where strabismus was not also prese nt. Conclusions: The MTI PhotoScreener may play a role in preverbal vision scre ening; identification of two of three children with amblyopiogenic factors before age 4 would be an exciting advance in public health. However, improv ement in the ability to identify children with media opacity and refractive error is necessary, improvements may be possible with modifications of the examination failure and photograph grading criteria, Ophthalmology 2000; 1 07:1623-1629 (C) 2000 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.