Usefulness of refractive measurement of wavefront autorefraction in patients with difficult retinoscopy.

Purpose: To assess the ability of the WaveScan WaveFront System (VISX Inc, Santa Clara, CA) to measure refractive errors in patients with difficult retinoscopy and to compare results to standard cycloplegic retinoscopy.

Methods: The medical records of patients with an ocular condition that could contribute to difficult or unreliable retinoscopy who underwent nondilated, noncycloplegic evaluation with the WaveScan WaveFront System were reviewed retrospectively. Results were compared to a standard cycloplegic retinoscopy.

Results: A total of 60 eyes of 31 patients were included. Wavefront sphere, cylinder, and spherical equivalent measurements were strongly correlated with retinoscopy results; however, the wavefront measured more myopia and more cylinder compared to standard retinoscopy.

Conclusions: Wavefront can be used to augment and enhance cycloplegic streak retinoscopy.