Assessment of vision in paediatric primary care practice

Abstract

Context: Assessment of visual function often poses a challenge for a paediatrician in primary practice. However, due to the simplic- ity of basic visual assessment methods, paediatricians have the means to evaluate a child’s visual function. As a crucial part of every preventive physical examination of a child, the red reflex test is the most important tool for discovering obstruction of the visual axis as the cause of deprivational amblyopia. The visual axis can be obstructed due to various vision - or even life-threatening conditions. Aim: To present visual assessment methods available to the paediatrician in primary practice. Data source: PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and available Internet screening guidelines. Conclusion: If obstruction of the visual axis is suspected, immediate referral to a paediatric ophthalmologist is mandatory.