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The diagnosis and assessment of visual function in Singaporean children with electrophysiology: 10-year results

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Abstract

Purpose

To study the clinical use and efficacy of electrophysiology in children.

Methods

This was a retrospective review of all children aged <16 years, who were referred to the Visual Electrophysiology Laboratory at the Singapore National Eye Center between 2003 and 2013.

Results

A total of 586 children, median age 8 years (range 0.15–16), were referred for a variety of reasons including investigation of poor vision (40 %), suspected retinal disease or optic nerve/cortical dysfunction (17 %), nystagmus (13 %) and screening or monitoring of a variety of ocular or neurological conditions (12 %). The number of children with vision 6/15 or worse was 418 (71 %), and 103 (18 %) had vision 6/120 or worse in at least one eye. The most common pathology noted was retinal dystrophy or dysfunction (41 %) or optic nerve/cortical dysfunction (12 %). In 30 %, visual electrophysiology was within normal limits, and in 6 %, a conclusive diagnosis could not be obtained.

Conclusion

Electrophysiology testing played an important role in the assessment of children and added to the clinical management of the patient.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore National Eye Centre, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore, 168751, Singapore

    Anna C. S. Tan, LiYu Chen, Rena Png & Audrey Chia

  2. Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore

    Anna C. S. Tan & Audrey Chia

Authors
  1. Anna C. S. Tan
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  2. LiYu Chen
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  3. Rena Png
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  4. Audrey Chia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna C. S. Tan.

Ethics declarations

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

This study including a waiver of consent due to the retrospective nature of the study was approved by the Singhealth Central Institutional Research Board.

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Tan, A.C.S., Chen, L., Png, R. et al. The diagnosis and assessment of visual function in Singaporean children with electrophysiology: 10-year results. Doc Ophthalmol 132, 189–199 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-016-9539-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-016-9539-9

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