Vision is an important aspect of a child’s quality of life and intellectual, social, and emotional development. Disruptions to vision during infancy and early childhood can cause lifelong vision impairment or blindness. However, early identification and treatment of eye disease can prevent loss of sight and its consequent long-term effects. Therefore, screening guidelines exist to guide physicians in detecting the most common threats to sight in the different stages of infancy and childhood. This review describes common causes of pediatric vision impairment, the recommended screening guidelines for diagnosing them, and current treatment modalities.

Trauma to the eye resulting from a soccer ball is a common sports-related injury. Although the types of ocular pathologic features that result from impact have been documented, the underlying pathophysiologic mechanics are not as well studied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical events after the collision of a soccer ball with the eye to better understand the pathophysiology of observed ocular and retinal injuries and to compare them with those observed in abusive head trauma (AHT). Computer simulation study. None. A finite element model of the eye was used to investigate the effects of a collision of a soccer ball on the eye. Intraocular pressure and stress. Impact of the soccer ball with the eye generated a pressure wave that traveled through the vitreous, creating transient pockets of high and negative pressure. During the high-frequency phase, pressure in the vitreous near the posterior pole ranged from 39.6 to –30.9 kPa. Stress in ocular tissue was greatest near the point of contact, with a peak of 66.6 kPa. The retina experienced the greatest stress at the vasculature, especially at distal branches, where stress rose to 15.4 kPa. On average, retinal stress was greatest in the subretinal layer, but was highest in the preretinal layer when considering only vascular tissue. The high intraocular pressure and stress in ocular tissue near the point of soccer ball impact suggest that injuries to the anterior segment of the eye can be attributed to direct transmission of force from the ball. The subsequent propagation of a pressure wave may cause injuries to the posterior segment as the positive and negative pressures exert compressive and tractional forces on the retina. The linear movement of the pressure wave likely accounts for localization of retinal lesions to the posterior pole or superior temporal quadrant. The primarily linear force in soccer ball trauma is the probable cause for the more localized injury profile and lower retinal hemorrhage incidence compared with AHT, in which repetitive angular force is also at play.

Purpose: This study investigated whether websites regarding diabetic retinopathy are readable for patients, and adequately designed to be found by search engines. Methods: The term “diabetic retinopathy” was queried in the Google search engine. Patient-oriented websites from the first 10 pages were categorized by search result page number and website organization type. Metrics of search engine optimization (SEO) and readability were then calculated. Results: Among the 71 sites meeting inclusion criteria, informational and organizational sites were best optimized for search engines, and informational sites were the most visited. Better optimization as measured by authority score was correlated with lower Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (r = 0.267, P = 0.024). There was a significant increase in Flesch Kincaid Grade Level with successive search result pages (r = 0.275, P = 0.020). Only 2 sites met the 6th grade reading level AMA recommendation by Flesch Kincaid Grade Level; the average reading level was 10.5. There was no significant difference in readability between website categories. Conclusion: While the readability of diabetic retinopathy patient information was poor, better readability was correlated to better SEO metrics. While we cannot assess causality, we recommend websites improve their readability, which may increase uptake of their resources.