Screening for hyperopia in infants using the PowerRefractor.

Purpose: To determine the proportion of infants in a pediatric medical practice who have high levels of hyperopia in addition to evaluating the ability of the PowerRefractor (PR) [with and without accessory +4.50 diopter (D) spectacles] compared with cycloplegic retinoscopy to detect highly hyperopic refractive errors.

Methods: The cycloplegic refractive error (2 drops tropicamide 1% given 5 min apart) of 200 normal birth weight infants was measured by retinoscopy and the Plusoptix PR. If initial readings were ≥ +2.00 D, PR measurement was repeated with accessory +4.50 D spectacles to extend its operating range. Examinations were conducted during well-baby visits at 2 months of age at the office of a local pediatrician group practice.

Results: Of the 200 infants, 7.5% had a spherical equivalent refractive error of +5.00 D or more in both eyes. The use of +4.50 D accessory glasses during PowerRefraction significantly improved the ability to detect higher levels of hyperopia. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves that were 0.69 to 0.51 when no glasses were worn improved to 0.87 to 0.98 when the glasses were worn (cutpoints between +3.50 and +5.00 D by retinoscopy). Significant underestimation of higher levels of hyperopia by the PR compared with retinoscopy was eliminated when +4.50 D accessory glasses were worn.

Conclusions: Accessory +4.50 diopter sphere spectacles appeared to successfully extend the operating range of the PR with cycloplegia, allowing for detection of high levels of hyperopia that occurred in a large proportion of 2-month old infants with adequate sensitivity and specificity compared with cycloplegic retinoscopy.