Vision Screening for the Detection of Amblyopia

July 31, 2019 updated by: Mladen Busic

Vision Screening of the Four Year Old Children for the Detection of Amblyopia in The Town of Zagreb

INTRODUCTION. Amblyopia is defined as the loss of visual acuity (VA) in one or both eyes, without any obvious structural or pathological anomalies. Amblyopic eye should be able to regain some VA if treatment is initiated before the age of seven. It is the leading cause of monocular blindness in the 20- to 70-year olds with prevalence 2-5%. Amblyopia is mainly monocular, hence children are general asymptomatic. VA testing is the only reliable method of detecting amblyopia, and the fourth year of life is considered best for vision screening programs.

AIM: The purpose of the study is to reduce the preventable vision loss. The main goal of the study is to evidence the problem of amblyopia in Zagreb and to release a model for formal, government directed vision-screening program as a Croatian public health policy.

HYPOTHESIS. In Croatia, the prevalence and actual effect of amblyopia and amblyogenic factors, along with treatment efficacy is impossible to quantify, since no population-based studies have been performed regarding this issue. In addition, national screening of preschool children does not exist, while the school-entry screening is prescribed by law. The object of the study is to determine the prevalence of amblyopia in a 4-4.5 year old children of The Town of Zagreb, the efficacy of screening and effectiveness of treatment on reducing amblyopia prevalence. The primary hypothesis is defined: screening of visual acuity monocularly at distance and near in 4-4.5 year old children in Zagreb is effective in detecting amblyopia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Monocular vision of about 7000 children/ year aged 4-4.5 for whom both parents gave consent is to be tested with Lea chart at near (40cm) and distance (3m) in the kindergartens of The Town of Zagreb. The criterion for referral to complete ophthalmological examination is VA <0.8.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

7000

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Zagreb, Croatia, 10 000
        • University Eye Clinic, University Hospital "Sveti Duh"

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

4 years to 4 years (CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • children in the kindergartens of The Town of Zagreb aged 4-4.5 for whom both parents gave written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • children younger than 4 years and children older than 4.5 years

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: SCREENING
  • Allocation: NA
  • Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Amblyopia screening
Monocular vision testing at near (40cm) and distance (3m)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
prevalence of amblyopia
Time Frame: 3 years
proportion of children with amblyopia in a total population of children screened
3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mladen Bušić, University Eye Clinic, University Hospital "Sveti Duh", Zagreb, Croatia

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 12, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 12, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

September 12, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 31, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 6, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

September 8, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 2, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 31, 2019

Last Verified

July 1, 2019

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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