Comparison between near retinoscopy and cycloplegic retinoscopy in the refraction of infants and children.

We investigated the validity of replacing cycloplegic retinoscopy with a noncycloplegic, "near" retinoscopy technique. We refracted a group of 31 infants (less than 2 years) and 43 children (greater than 2 years) with both techniques, grading our level of confidence in the result. Near retinoscopy gave on average a less hypermetropic result than cycloplegic retinoscopy by 0.39 D. The difference was significant in infants and for low levels of examiner confidence. However, a repeatability study showed that much of the variability in the infant group could be attributed to the poor repeatability of either retinoscopy technique. Agreement between the two techniques is improved by changing the suggested adjustment factor from 1.25 to 1.00 D for children and to 0.75 D for infants.