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Visual acuity as measured with Landolt C chart and Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart

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Abstract

Background

We compared the Landolt C chart checked under normal clinical conditions and the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart, using standard clinical research protocols for subjects with normal vision, cataract and maculopathy.

Methods

This prospective, comparative study was approved by the hospital Institutional Review Board. Patients with cataract and maculopathy were included, with the normal fellow eyes analyzed as normal vision group. Differences between the two charts were analyzed using Student’s t-test.

Results

Normal and cataract eyes showed no statistically significant differences between methods. In the maculopathy group, ETDRS acuity (0.714 ± 0.393) was better than Landolt C acuity (0.845 ± 0.579), but the differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.152). Furthermore, if after dividing visual acuity into subgroups, >20/200 and ≤20/200 by Landolt C acuity, the latter subgroup had significant differences between the two tests (p < 0.001). ETDRS acuity (1.014 ± 0.319) was better than Landolt C acuity (1.419 ± 0.385). The average acuity difference was 4 lines.

Conclusions

For maculopathy patients with VA ≤ 20/200, the ETDRS chart had a better score than the Landolt C chart.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital — Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Hsi-Kung Kuo, Ming-Tse Kuo, Pei-Chang Wu, Yung-Jen Chen & Chih-Hsin Chen

  2. Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, PO BOX 913, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Ing-Soo Tiong

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, No. 123, Ta-Pei Road, Niao-Sung Hsiang, Kaohsiung Hsien, 807, Taiwan

    Hsi-Kung Kuo

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  1. Hsi-Kung Kuo
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  2. Ming-Tse Kuo
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  3. Ing-Soo Tiong
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  4. Pei-Chang Wu
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  5. Yung-Jen Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hsi-Kung Kuo.

Additional information

The authors have no financial relationship with the organization that sponsored the research. The authors have full control of all primary data, and agree to allow Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology to review these data if requested.

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Kuo, HK., Kuo, MT., Tiong, IS. et al. Visual acuity as measured with Landolt C chart and Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 249, 601–605 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-010-1461-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-010-1461-3

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