Comparison of Self Refraction accuracy with Cycloplegic Subjective Refraction in Young Adults

Background: Uncorrected refractive error is one of the major causes of blindness. Self-refraction methods are currently practised to correct refractive errors. Self-adjustable eyeglasses are available easily in the present online buying era. Hence this study aimed to compare the visual and refractive outcomes between Self-refraction (SR) eyeglasses and Cycloplegic subjective Refraction (CSR).

Methodology: This observational cross-sectional study included 59 participants (21 males and 38 females) between the age of 18 and to 30years with the refractive error between +3.00D to -6.00D took part in this study. Subjects with a previous history of non-strabismic binocular vision anomaly, astigmatic error, pathological eye problems, ocular surgery or trauma were excluded from the study. The subjects were allowed to estimate their refractive error with DialVision eyeglasses followed by CSR, which was performed by a single examiner. The visual and refractive outcomes of SR and CSR were collected and analyzed.

Result: The study participant's mean age was 22(2) years. The comparison of visual acuity and duo-chrome between SR and CSR using Paired T-test showed a statistically significant difference (P<0.01). Visual acuity attained from SR resulted in a mean acuity of 0.14(0.05) logMAR compared to CSR 0.002(0.007) logMAR. The duo-chrome test identified 92% of participants being under-corrected with SR. No statistically significant difference was observed in contrast sensitivity and cover test (P>0.01).

Conclusion: Visual acuity with SR was acceptable but wasn’t better than CSR. Appreciable under correction of refractive error with SR raises concern. Encouraging a patient to correct their refractive error without a comprehensive eye examination can lead to various adverse effects. Even though SR might bring a brief relief towards the burden of uncorrected refractive error, dispensing spectacle based on standard refraction procedure is imperative for good visual performance.