Features from screening programme referrals pre and post pandemic
Reviewed by Fiona Rowe

In this study the authors conducted an analysis of demographics, referral rates and prevalence of various ophthalmic assessments among children referred to an ophthalmologist through the UCI eye mobile programme. They further evaluated the influence of socio-economic factors and the Covid-19 pandemic. Of 18,526 vision screens undertaken over a five-year period, 3619 received comprehensive eye examinations on the UCI eye mobile leading to 76 referrals to paediatric ophthalmology. This was an average referral rate of 2.02% across the school years. There were 27 males and 46 females (three were not specified) with mean age of 4.8 ±2.2 years. Ethnicities included 72.6% Hispanic, 10.9% Asian, 9.6% White, 4.1% Middle Eastern, 1.4% Black and 1.4% Indian. English was the primary language for 67.1%. Significant differences were found for age and gender vs Covid-19: children were older on presentation post pandemic and there were less females. The majority of children (82.9%) attended school districts where median incomes were lower. Refractive errors included 46.7% hyperopic and 26.7% myopic with astigmatism. The three most common reasons for referral included strabismus, abnormal cup-to-disc ratio and amblyopia. The study findings support the importance of providing accessible vision screening and follow-up care to promote equity. They suggest changes in environmental and behavioural factors during the pandemic had potential to significantly impact paediatric eye health.

Exploring pediatric vision care: insight from five years of referral cases in the UCI eye mobile and implications of Covid-19.
Choi EH, Hong JD, Suh S, et al.
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY AND STRABISMUS
2024;61(5):309–16.