The predictability of infant visual-evoked response testing on future visual acuity.

We reviewed the records of 27 infants with abnormal eye examinations and visual-evoked response (VER) testing (mean age, 10.5 months) who subsequently underwent a long-term follow-up ophthalmology examination (mean duration, 41 months). The infants were initially diagnosed with various ocular disorders including cortical blindness (eight), optic nerve hypoplasia (six), congenital cataract (two), and retinopathy of prematurity (one). Standard optotype visual-acuity determinations were available in the follow-up records of 11 children (21 eyes), and fixation behavior was obtained in the remaining 16 children (32 eyes). Results revealed that pattern-reversal VER P1 latency was predictive (87%) of whether visual acuity was equal to (or better than) or worse than 20/100 and whether a patient would have good fixation behavior (fix and follow, FF) or poor fixation (no FF) (86%) (P less than .001). Although flash VER P1 latency was also predictive of later visual acuity or good fixation (73%), it was not statistically significant. Pattern VER P1 amplitude and flash VER P1 amplitude were not predictive of later visual function. The predictive power of pattern VER P1 latency for later visual function probably relates to its reflection of macular function and low variability. An analysis of the variability of each of the four VER factors in normal infants (n = 50) indicated that pattern VER P1 latency was the least variable, and consequently most sensitive, VER factor for detecting and quantifying pathology. Overall, the results of this retrospective study suggest that pattern VER P1 latency may have important predictive power for later visual function in infants with an initially abnormal ophthalmologic examination.