Alteration in pattern reversal visual evoked potential in pediatric population with amblyopia and spherical refractive errors

PURPOSE: To study the effect of refractive errors on pattern visual evoked potential (VEP) recordings in the pediatric population. METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study assessed 240 eyes of 120 participants attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care center in North India. Participants were between 8 and 18 years of age; 30 participants each were recruited into four groups, namely emmetropia, myopia, hypermetropia, and amblyopia. They were then subjected to pattern reversal VEP, with P-100 amplitude and latency recorded for each participant. RESULTS: The emmetropic group in this study provided normal values of P-100 parameters, namely P-100 latency and P-100 amplitude with readings of 115.78 ± 10.19 ms and 11.11 ± 4.08 mV, respectively. P-100 amplitude was significant compared to P-100 latency in detecting the presence or absence of a specific type of refractive error. It was found that there was a significant association between severity of myopia and P-100 latency (both unaided and aided) with P < 0.05. The severity of hypermetropia showed a significant association with P-100 amplitude (unaided) (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristics analysis revealed P-100 amplitude to be a good predictor of refractive error and the cut-offs were calculated. CONCLUSION: The P-100 parameters of the pediatric Indian population were comparatively higher than conventional values. P-100 latency seemed to better correlate with myopia, while hypermetropia correlated with P-100 amplitude. P-100 amplitude appears to be the most significant predictor of the presence of refractive error in an individual.