Frequency of undetected binocular vision anomalies among ophthalmology trainees

PURPOSE: The use of ophthalmic instruments requires increased effort on the accommodation and vergence system. This study aimed to understand the prevalence of binocular vision anomalies among ophthalmology trainees attending a surgical training program at a tertiary eye care center. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was carried out between April and November 2017 at a tertiary eye care center in South India. All the ophthalmology trainees inducted for the training programs at the institution underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic and binocular vision assessment. Subjects with previous diagnosis of binocular vision dysfunction and vision therapy were excluded. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the subjects was 29 (3) among which 48 were females. Out of the total 75 subjects, 66 had prior surgical experience [range: 1 to 17 years]. Thirty-eight subjects were asymptomatic and 37 were symptomatic. The most common asthenopic symptom was the presence of headache. Forty-one (55%) out of the 75 had a diagnosis of a non-strabismic binocular vision dysfunction. The range of phoria at distance was orthophoria to 14 Prism Diopter (PD) exophoria (mean +/− SD: −1 +/− 3), and at near 4PD esophoria to 25PD exophoria (mean +/− SD: −4 +/− 5). Based on standard diagnostic criteria, 15 subjects (20%) had convergence insufficiency, 14 (19%) had accommodative infacility, 9 (12%) had intermittent divergent squint (IDS), while 3 subjects (4%) had convergence excess. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the high frequency of binocular vision dysfunctions among ophthalmology trainees joining a tertiary eye care center.