AIM: To evaluate the value of HAR-800 hand held autorefractor for non-cycloplegic screening for amblyopia in preschool children.

METHODS: Totally 1 027 preschool children were enrolled into this study in Jiangning block, Jing-An district, Shanghai. The association between refractive finding with HAR-800 handheld autorefractor and amblyopia status was studied. The received operator curve was depicted to evaluate the value of the means for screening amblyopia. The sensitivity(Sn), specificity(Sp), accuracy and kappa were calculated.

RESULTS: All 44 children were diagnosed with amblyopia. The area under ROCs of anisometropia, spherical refractive error and astigmatism was 0.92, 0.89, 0.21 respectively. Anisometropia and spherical refractive error can be used to screen amblyopia. When anisometropia >0.88D or spherical refractive error >2.5D were set as the index of amblyopia, the Sn was 77.3% and 72.7%; Sp was 99% and 98.8%; accuracy was 93.4% and 93.3%, respectively. Kappas were all >0.4.

CONCLUSION: HAR-800 hand held autorefractor can be used to screen amblyopia in preschool children.