Objective:

Identify the characteristics of pediatric patients with greater than 6 diopter myopia.

Methods:

An observational descriptive longitudinal study was conducted of 43 children aged 3-15 years diagnosed with myopia equal to or greater than 6 diopters in one or both eyes (72 eyes) who attended the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Service at Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology from January to December 2018. The variables considered were age, sex, skin color, myopia (isometropic or anisometropic), axial length, corrected visual acuity, type of optical correction, and presence and degree of stereopsis.

Results:

A predominance was found of the 3-5 years age group (34.4%), female sex and white skin color. Axial length increased with spherical equivalent. The most common correction was glasses, but it was statistically demonstrated that gas permeable lenses provided better visual acuity (p= 0.016) and the highest spherical equivalent mean. Of the 43 patients evaluated, 20 (46.5%) did not present stereopsis. Patients with anisometropia (64%) did not present stereopsis, which constituted a statistically significant fact.

Conclusion:

Gas permeable lenses provide better visual acuity and a greater spherical equivalent. Most of the patients without stereopsis have anisometropic myopia.

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