PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF VISUAL ACUITY AGREEMENT BETWEEN STANDARD EARLY TREATMENT DIABETIC RETINOPATHY STUDY CHART AND A HANDHELD EQUIVALENT IN EYES WITH RETINAL PATHOLOGY.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the visual acuity agreement between a standard back-illuminated Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart and a handheld internally illuminated ETDRS chart.

METHODS:

Two-center prospective study. Seventy patients (134 eyes) with retinal pathology were enrolled between October 2012 and August 2013. Visual acuity was measured using both the ETDRS chart and the handheld device by masked independent examiners after best protocol refraction. Examination was performed in the same room under identical illumination and testing conditions.

RESULTS:

The mean number of letters seen was 63.0 (standard deviation: 19.8 letters) and 61.2 letters (standard deviation: 19.1 letters) for the ETDRS chart and handheld device, respectively. Mean difference per eye between the ETDRS and handheld device was 1.8 letters. A correlation coefficient (r) of 0.95 demonstrated a positive linear correlation between ETDRS chart and handheld device measured acuities. Intraclass correlation coefficient was performed to assess the reproducibility of the measurements made by different observers measuring the same quantity and was calculated to be 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.93-0.96). Agreement was independent of retinal disease.

CONCLUSION:

The strong correlation between measured visual acuity using the ETDRS and handheld equivalent suggests that they may be used interchangeably, with accurate measurements. Potential benefits of this device include convenience and portability, as well as the ability to assess ETDRS visual acuity without a dedicated testing lane.

• Authors: Ehsan Rahimy, Sahitya Reddy, Francis Char DeCroos, M Ali Khan, David S Boyer, Omesh P Gupta, Carl D Regillo, Julia A Haller
• Journal: Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.) (Retina) Vol. 35 Issue 8 Pg. 1680-7 (Aug 2015) ISSN: 1539-2864 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25719987 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Evaluation Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Computers, Handheld
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prospective Studies
• Reproducibility of Results
• Retina (physiopathology)
• Retinal Diseases (physiopathology)
• Vision Tests (instrumentation)
• Visual Acuity (physiology)
• Visual Fields (physiology)
• Young Adult