LAUSR

Key Points Question Is school screening or optometric examinations to detect amblyopia in kindergarten-aged children cost-effective vs vision screening in primary care visits? Findings In this economic evaluation involving a hypothetical cohort of 25 000 children aged 3 to 5 years in Toronto, Canada, school screening relative to primary care screening yielded cost savings of $84.09 Canadian dollars (CAD) ($63.38 US dollars) and an incremental gain of 0.0004 quality-adjusted life-years per child. Optometric examinations relative to primary care screening yielded cost savings of CAD $74.47 (US $56.13) and an incremental gain of 0.0508 quality-adjusted life-years per child. Meaning These findings suggest that, because of the low prevalence of amblyopia (5.8%) among young children in the population, school screening and optometric examinations are not cost-effective relative to primary care screening for detecting amblyopia in kindergarten-aged children in Toronto, Canada.