Discrepancies between parental reports and clinical diagnoses of strabismus in Korean children

PurposeTo compare the accuracy of parental observation of strabismus with clinical evaluation in Korean children.MethodsThe medical records of 228 children <15 years of age who visited the pediatric strabismus clinic from 2002 to 2007 and whose parents reported a horizontal deviation were retrospectively reviewed. We compared subjective parent-reported direction of ocular deviation with the objective results after clinical evaluation.ResultsThe mean age of the 228 children was 3.9 ± 3.0 years. Of these, 178 children (78%) were diagnosed with strabismus; 50 (22%), with orthotropia. The overall concordance rate was 67% (152/228). The concordance rate was lower for parents reporting inward deviation of the eye (P < 0.001), younger age group at presentation (P = 0.004), experienced onset of ocular deviation at younger age group (P = 0.001), and had fewer diopters of deviation (P < 0.001). Patient sex, family history of strabismus, observed frequency of deviation, and laterality of deviated eye did not show statistical differences in concordance rates (all P values >0.05).ConclusionsParental observation correlated with clinical assessment two-thirds of the time. Exotropia was more reliably detected by the parents than esotropia.