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Abstract #10388 Published in IGR 6-1
The reliability of frequency-doubling perimetry in young children
Blumenthal EZ; Haddad A; Horani A; Anteby IOphthalmology 2004; 111:435-49
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether healthy young children are able to perform automated static perimetry reliably using the frequency-doubling technology (FDT) perimeter. DESIGN: Prospective, observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: Forty healthy children aged four to 14 years. TESTING: In one randomly chosen eye, subjects underwent two consecutive visual field (VF) tests using the C-20 full-threshold program of the commercially available FDT. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Global measures included mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD), test duration and reliability indices, including fixation losses and false-positive and false-negative errors. Fixation losses were checked six times throughout the examination, rather than being continuously monitored. Two scoring systems, based on the total deviation probability plot, classified each VF as normal or abnormal. RESULTS: All subjects completed the VF test. The better of two examinations (as determined by the MD score) was used for analysis. The average test duration was 4.9 ± 0.7 minutes for the entire group. The mean MD and PSD were -0.78 ± 4.9 and 6.7 ± 6.2, respectively. A clear correlation to age was found for MD, PSD, abnormality of the VF, and test duration (all p < 0.05). Of all VFs, 32.5% were unreliable, such that at younger than eight years of age, 42.9% of the VFs were unreliable, compared with 23.1% for those older than eight years. Younger than eight years of age, 78.6% of VFs were abnormal, whereas for ages eight years and older, 26.9% of VFs were abnormal. CONCLUSIONS: Frequency-doubling technology seems to be a clinically feasible VF method for evaluating young children older than approximately eight years of age. The reliability indices, MD, test duration, and the reproducibility of the VF test were found to be highly correlated with age, in such a way that these parameters all improved with increasing age.
Dr. E.Z. Blumenthal, Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah University Hospital, PO Box 12000, Jerusalem 91120, Israel. eblumenthal@md.huji.ac.il
Classification:
6.6.3 Special methods (e.g. color, contrast, SWAP etc.) (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.6 Visual field examination and other visual function tests)