Abstract
Purpose. To assess measurement reliability of reading speed from charts with meaningful text. Methods. During a 1 year period, personnel at 3 centers participating in the Submacular Surgery Trials (SST) Pilot Study took part in an evaluation of reliability of a reading speed test. High-contrast cards were used; each contained paragraphs of approximately 40 words of meaningful text. Letter size corresponded to a visual acuity (VA) of approximately 20/1500, at a 10 inch test distance. Ambient illumination was 50 to 100 foot-candles. Additional lighting illuminated the card. Patients had subfoveal choroidal lesions in at least 1 eye. Time to read all words on a card and number of words read incorrectly were recorded. Results. 79 patients (158 eyes) participated. Best corrected VA ranged from 20/20 to less than 20/1600. All words of the text could not be read in 3 minutes or less by 26 eyes. Reliability was excellent in the other 132 eyes (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .95; 95% confidence interval = .93-.96). More variability existed between initial and retest reading speeds for eyes with better visual acuity; the largest differences between measurements were observed in eyes with better VA. ICCs were .90 or greater in all subgroups examined including untreated eyes, post-surgery eyes, and postlaser eyes. Conclusions. Reading speed measurements with these high contrast charts are reproducible by the same examiner, even in eyes with subfoveal lesions and poor VA. Inter-examiner reliability currently is under evaluation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | S676 |
| Journal | Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology
- Sensory Systems
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience