Signs and symptoms related to low visual acuity in schoolchildren from the Northeast of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Purpose: Associate the most important eye symptoms and signs of the childhood to low visual acuity in children from the northeast of Rio Grande do Sul. Methods: During the Project “Health and the Citizen/Community Action”, carried out from March to September 2006, a visual acuity test was performed in 338 schoolchildren between 4 and 15 years of age, who looked for the service spontaneously. The screening was performed using the Snellen chart and a questionnaire asking about difficulty to see the blackboard at school, headache, eye redness, pain or itch. Acuity less or equal to 20/20 in both eyes was used as parameter for low visual acuity. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test and sensitivity (se), specificity (sp), positive predictive value (ppv) and likelihood ratio + (lr+). Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between low visual acuity and difficulty to see the blackboard at school (p<0.001, se=26%, sp=93%, ppv=51%, lr+=3.7) and eye pain (p=0.002, se=23%, sp=90%, ppv=38%, lr+=2.3). No statistically significant association was found between low visual acuity and headache (p=0.3, se=26%, sp=79%, ppv=24%, lr+=1.2), eye itch (p=0.06, se=26%, sp=83%, ppv=28%, lr+=1.5) and eye redness (p=0.8, se=11%, sp=88%, ppv=21%, lr+=0.9). On the other hand, there was a statistically significant relationship between the presence of at least one of these conditions and low visual acuity (p=0.004, se=58%, sp=60%, ppv=27%, lr+=1.4). Conclusion: Children at school age with difficulty to see the blackboard or with eye pain are more subject to low visual acuity, while no such association was found in children complaining from headache, eye pain or eye redness.