Pattern Visual Evoked Potentials Recorded Under Chloral Hydrate Sedation

Abstract

The accurate assessment of visual function in infants and preverbal children is crucial to the appropriate management of pediatric eye disorders. Decisions regarding pediatric cataract surgery, corneal surgery, the dispensing of glasses, and patching therapy are dependent upon knowledge of visual function and the presence of amblyopia. Unfortunately, there are only a few quantitative methods available to test infant vision and these have not been accepted for routine clinical use [1,2]. The two most widely used methods are preferential looking [3,4] and the pattern visual evoked potential (P-VEP) [5,6], Fixation preference testing has also been used to detect amblyopia in preverbal children, but this test does not quantitate visual function [7,8]. A common shortcoming of these tests is the requirement for patient cooperation.