Potential for Standardization of Refractive Measures for Manifest Refraction Before and After Using Mydriatic Eyedrops in Children

This study aimed to standardize the refractive measures using manifest refraction (MR) before and after using mydriatic eyedrops, and to explore the potential impact of age on the MR differences before mydriatic eyedrops (MRM), after rapid pupil dilation (MRRPD), and after slow pupil dilation (MRSPD). Three hundred sixty-two participants, aged 3–18 years were recruited from January 1, 2018, to September 30, 2018, using cluster sampling. MRM, MRRPD, and MRSPD were applied for measuring sphere and cylinder in the left and right eyes. At the initial inspection stage there were no significant differences between the MRM and MRRPD groups for sphere and cylinder values in the left and right eyes (P > 0 05). A significant difference was found for the sphere value in the left (P < 0 001) and right eyes (P < 0 001) among the MRM, MRRPD, and MRSPD groups, whereas there was no significant difference in cylinder value in the left (P = 0 691) and right eyes (P = 0 172) among groups at the review stage. The sphere value in the left and right eyes was significantly different among the MRM, MRRPD, and MRSPD groups for children aged 3–6 years, and there was a significant difference among groups for the sphere value in the right eye for children aged 7–11 years. There were no significant differences between the MRM and MRRPD groups in terms of sphere or cylinder values in the left and right eyes of children aged 12–18 years. The study findings indicate the results of sphere and cylinder measurements in the left and right eyes are consistent for MRM and MRRPD during the initial inspection stage, without any effect of the age of the children. However, the results of sphere measurements in the left and right eye were significantly different between the MRM, MRRPD, and MRSPD groups, especially for younger children.