Task Force Recommends Vision Screening in Children 3 to 5

TUESDAY, Feb. 28, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Young children should be screened at least once for amblyopia before they turn 5 years old, according to a draft recommendation statement issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

These draft guidelines are an update to 2011 recommendations. Screening should be done when the children are between the ages of 3 and 5 years old, according to the updated recommendation. The Task Force said there's not enough research to know whether screening should be done before age 3.

"Identification of vision abnormalities in preschool-aged children allows the abnormality to be corrected while the brain is still developing, which can prevent permanent vision loss," Task Force member Alex Kemper, M.D., M.P.H., of the Duke University Medical School in Durham, N.C., said in a USPSTF news release.

The Task Force is accepting public comments on the draft recommendation through March 27.