Biomaterial Database

Screening for suppression in young children: the polaroid suppression test. 1998

J W Pott, and D K Oosterveen, and J Van Hof-van Duin

Department of Physiology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND Assessment of monocular visual impairment during screening of young children is often hampered by lack of cooperation. Because strabismus, amblyopia, or anisometropia may lead to monocular suppression during binocular viewing conditions, a test was developed to screen for suppression in young children. METHODS Children were invited to look through two polaroid filters of different polarization direction at two pictures covered with polaroid filters of opposite polarization direction. In this way, each eye could only see one of the two pictures. In cases of suppression, only one picture would be visible. Acuity measurements in 201 5-year-old children were compared with the Polaroid Suppresion test (PST) results. RESULTS The PST had a high success rate (99.5%) and testing time was under 1 minute. Specificity of the PST for acuity impairments was 91%. The low sensitivity of 60% was caused mainly by the fact that some children with binocular acuity impairments were not detected with the PST. However, the PST was highly sensitive for significant interocular acuity differences. CONCLUSIONS The PST has been found to be a useful screening method for amblyogenic factors in young children. The test can be carried out without occlusion of one eye. The apparatus is portable, the test duration is short, and the costs are low. The results indicate that the PST is a very promising tool to use in clinical conditions and for screening large numbers of young children.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008403	Mass Screening	Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.	Screening,Mass Screenings,Screening, Mass,Screenings,Screenings, Mass
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000550	Amblyopia	A nonspecific term referring to impaired vision. Major subcategories include stimulus deprivation-induced amblyopia and toxic amblyopia. Stimulus deprivation-induced amblyopia is a developmental disorder of the visual cortex. A discrepancy between visual information received by the visual cortex from each eye results in abnormal cortical development. STRABISMUS and REFRACTIVE ERRORS may cause this condition. Toxic amblyopia is a disorder of the OPTIC NERVE which is associated with ALCOHOLISM, tobacco SMOKING, and other toxins and as an adverse effect of the use of some medications.	Anisometropic Amblyopia,Lazy Eye,Amblyopia, Developmental,Amblyopia, Stimulus Deprivation-Induced,Amblyopia, Suppression,Stimulus Deprivation-Induced Amblyopia,Amblyopia, Anisometropic,Amblyopia, Stimulus Deprivation Induced,Amblyopias,Amblyopias, Anisometropic,Amblyopias, Developmental,Amblyopias, Stimulus Deprivation-Induced,Amblyopias, Suppression,Anisometropic Amblyopias,Deprivation-Induced Amblyopia, Stimulus,Deprivation-Induced Amblyopias, Stimulus,Developmental Amblyopia,Developmental Amblyopias,Eye, Lazy,Eyes, Lazy,Lazy Eyes,Stimulus Deprivation Induced Amblyopia,Stimulus Deprivation-Induced Amblyopias,Suppression Amblyopia,Suppression Amblyopias
D012680	Sensitivity and Specificity	Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)	Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D013285	Strabismus	Misalignment of the visual axes of the eyes. In comitant strabismus the degree of ocular misalignment does not vary with the direction of gaze. In noncomitant strabismus the degree of misalignment varies depending on direction of gaze or which eye is fixating on the target. (Miller, Walsh & Hoyt's Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology, 4th ed, p641)	Concomitant Strabismus,Dissociated Horizontal Deviation,Dissociated Vertical Deviation,Heterophoria,Heterotropias,Hypertropia,Non-Concomitant Strabismus,Nonconcomitant Strabismus,Phorias,Squint,Strabismus, Comitant,Strabismus, Noncomitant,Convergent Comitant Strabismus,Mechanical Strabismus,Comitant Strabismus,Comitant Strabismus, Convergent,Deviation, Dissociated Horizontal,Dissociated Horizontal Deviations,Dissociated Vertical Deviations,Heterophorias,Heterotropia,Horizontal Deviation, Dissociated,Hypertropias,Non Concomitant Strabismus,Noncomitant Strabismus,Phoria,Strabismus, Concomitant,Strabismus, Convergent Comitant,Strabismus, Mechanical,Strabismus, Non-Concomitant,Strabismus, Nonconcomitant
D014787	Vision Tests	A series of tests used to assess various functions of the eyes.	Test, Vision,Tests, Vision,Vision Test
D014792	Visual Acuity	Clarity or sharpness of OCULAR VISION or the ability of the eye to see fine details. Visual acuity depends on the functions of RETINA, neuronal transmission, and the interpretative ability of the brain. Normal visual acuity is expressed as 20/20 indicating that one can see at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. Visual acuity can also be influenced by brightness, color, and contrast.	Acuities, Visual,Acuity, Visual,Visual Acuities