Accuracy and intrasession variability of noncycloplegic autorefraction of school-aged children and adolescents

The aims of the study were (1) to compare the accuracy andintrasession variability of noncycloplegic autorefraction (AR) obtained by a photorefractor and conventional and open-field autorefractors and (2) to evaluate the impact of accommodative and binocular vision anomalies on the accuracy of autorefraction. Twenty-nine children and adolescents aged 8–18 years were examined. All instruments gave more myopic results than subjective refraction (SR). Mean differences between the SR and the AR were+0.52/−0.25 × 96◦ for the photorefractor,+0.63/−0.31 × 93◦ for the conventional autorefractor, and +0.19/−0.26 × 94◦ for the open-field instrument. The photorefractor appeared to be the most repeatable. The impact of the examined vision anomalies on the accuracy of autorefraction was not statistically significant.