Rajalakshmi AR, Rajeshwari M. Efficacy of Brückner's Test for Screening of Refractive Errors by Non-ophthalmologist Versus Ophthalmologist: A Comparative Study.
Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol 2020;
26:185-188. [PMID:
32153328 PMCID:
PMC7034155 DOI:
10.4103/meajo.meajo_121_19]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of Brückner's test as a screening tool for identifying refractive errors by a non-ophthalmologist and to assess the inter-observer variation.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS:
This was a quasi-experimental study conducted at a tertiary care medical college hospital. Brückner's test was performed by a non-ophthalmologist followed by an ophthalmologist. The results were confirmed by cycloplegic refraction.
RESULTS:
The study included 75 children (31 males and 44 females) with a mean age of 13.3 ± 1.2 years. The results of Brückner's test by both non-ophthalmologist and ophthalmologist showed good sensitivity and specificity when compared with cycloplegic refraction. There was a good strength of agreement between the observations of non-ophthalmologist and ophthalmologist.
CONCLUSION:
Brückner's test is simple, quick, reliable, and easy to administer on children of all age groups that can provide information about the presence of refractive errors by using a coaxial light source such as direct ophthalmoscope. The application of this test by training primary care providers would be of immense value in the early identification of refractive errors.
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