Preschoolers are often precocious and quick whited, but they often have no way of clearly identifying any issue they might have seeing. This is where vision screenings are key, as they can get to the bottom of any vision disorders. New data now shows clinicians can use any number of visual acuity charts to test these children. Investigators recently found that Lea, HOTV and E visual acuity charts were all highly accurate in identifying significant refractive errors in preschoolers.

This cross-sectional study evaluated 256 eyes using monocular unaided vision assessment with Lea, HOTV and E charts. The team measured stereo acuity the Randot Preschool Test, and performed a comprehensive eye examination.

The screening revealed that 33.2% of the study eyes had significant refractive errors and 94.1% were astigmatic. The team discovered that Lea, HOTV and E charts had sensitivities of 87.8%, 90.2% and 90.2%, respectively. They note that HOTV and Lea charts were slightly more accurate compared with the E chart. They add that negative predictive values for Lea, HOTV and E were 92.8%, 93.8% and 93.8%, respectively.

The researchers saw good agreement between Lea and HOTV, Lea and E and HOTV and E charts. They note that the smallest acuity difference fell between Lea and HOTV charts.