Abstract
PurposeThe study aimed to determine the precision of different ophthalmic calipers used in our tertiary eye care center.MethodsAll Castroviejo calipers available in the operating room, minor treatment room, and intravitreal injection clinic were included in the study. All calipers were evaluated at four screening points (1, 5, 10, and 15 mm) on a standard ruler and compared to their expected corresponding readings on the caliper scale. If any caliper showed a discrepancy of ≥0.5 mm at any of the screening points, the caliper underwent further analysis on 10 measurement points.ResultsForty-one calipers were evaluated, of which 16 (39%) showed at least one point of ≥0.5 mm discrepancy on the caliper reading scale. Six calipers had errors >0.5 mm and two calipers had measurement errors of 1 mm in at least one point between 1-15-mm ruler measurement points. The majority of calipers (15/16) overestimated lengths.ConclusionCalipers are prone to damage with prolonged use that may affect their precision. Thus, calipers should be calibrated against a standard ruler prior to use even if they look grossly intact. Regular screening of calipers is recommended to identify any discrepancy and prevent avoidable complications.
Highlights
A caliper is an instrument that measures length
Forty-one calipers were evaluated, of which 16 (39%) showed at least one point of ≥0.5 mm discrepancy on the caliper reading scale
Since the Castroviejo caliper is commonly used in ophthalmic procedures, ensuring the accuracy of these calipers prior to use is critical to avoid multiple clinical and surgical complications such as lens injury or retinal break during pars plana sclerotomy or intravitreal injection, inappropriate corneal graft diameter, inaccurate amount of recession/resection during strabismus surgery, erroneous measurements of corneal diameter in congenital glaucoma, poorly fitted anterior chamber intraocular lens, and improper sizing of limbal relaxing incisions in refractive surgery
Summary
It is used to measure the dimensions of an object or the distance between two points in a plane Based on their scales, calipers can be classified as either fixed or moveable. The Jameson caliper is a sliding-type caliper that measures from 0 to 80-mm in 0.5-mm increments This allows estimates as small as 0.25 mm [1-2]. The Castroviejo caliper is the most popular caliber used in ophthalmic procedures because of its small size, ease of use, and precision. It measures from 0 to 20 mm in 1-mm increments, which allows estimates as small as 0.5 mm [3-4]. On the other hand, fixed-scale calipers, such as the Stahl caliper, Braunstein fixed caliper, and scleral ruler, are less commonly used in clinical practice
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