Refractive changes during off-the-axis retinoscopy in myopia

PURPOSE: To analyze the refractive shift during off-the-axis retinoscopy under cycloplegic drugs in myopic patients during ocular examination. METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study was carried out among 10 myopic patients having refractive errors of −3.00 D or less. All the subjects underwent cycloplegic refraction by a single examiner at 0°, 10°, and 20°. Descriptive data were analyzed as mean and standard deviation. Paired t-test was used to compare the mean differences between on-axis (0°) and off-axis (10° and 20°) retinoscopy. RESULT: The mean spherical equivalent refraction of 10 myopic patients showed an increase in myopic shift with approximately 7% and 18% for 10° and 20° of eccentricity, respectively. Similarly, the mean spherical equivalent measure on axis (0°) and off axis (10° and 20°) were -2.5495, −2.737, and −3.0265, respectively. The mean spherical equivalent differences between on-axis (0°) and off-axis (10° and 20°) showed statistically significant differences with P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that a greater degree of eccentricity will induce a greater amount of errors in retinoscopy.