Early diagnosis of amblyopia in 3-year-old children

Purpose and Background. In the 'Tuebingen Kindergarten Study', an orthoptic screening program for amblyopia in 3-year-olds was evaluated. In the retrospective analysis presented here, the association between a child's history - especially participation in regular preventive care examinations (U4 to U7) - and time of detection of target diseases was investigated. Methods and Subjects. Parents of three children groups were interviewed by telephone. Group 1 consisted of 21 children already treated for amblyopia before orthoptic screening, group 2 of 26 children with target conditions newly detected by orthoptic screening, and group 3 of 32 children with newly detected moderate ametropia. The groups were tested for differences in history and utilisation/results of regular screenings. Results. 77-90% of all children had positive family histories. Participation in regular screenings ranged from 82% to 92%. There were no significant differences between the groups. Nearly 90% of parents from groups 2 and 3 had not heard of amblyopia before orthoptic screening. One child was referred after preventive care examinations. Conclusions. Regular preventive care examinations contributed little to the detection of amblyopia. The strong authority of the paediatrician should be exerted for early education of parents.