Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Methodol. Sep 20, 2021; 11(5): 263-277
Published online Sep 20, 2021. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v11.i5.263
Evaluation of the red reflex: An overview for the pediatrician
Aspasia Toli, Asli Perente, Georgios Labiris
Aspasia Toli, Asli Perente, Georgios Labiris, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis 68100, Greece
Author contributions: Toli A designed the research, performed the literature research and wrote the article; Perente A performed the literature research and wrote the article; Labiris G supervised the paper; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no competing interests.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Georgios Labiris, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Dragana Alexandroupolis 68100, Greece. labiris@usa.net
Received: January 27, 2021
Peer-review started: January 27, 2021
First decision: May 6, 2021
Revised: May 19, 2021
Accepted: August 3, 2021
Article in press: August 3, 2021
Published online: September 20, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Red reflex test (RRT) is an easy, non-invasive examination that enables detection of vision- and life-threatening eye disorders. Various studies have dealt with the effectiveness, sensitivity/specificity and abnormalities of the RRT. The aim of the present review is to emphasize the advantages of RRT implementation from neonatal period to childhood and to underline the pediatricians’ role in early diagnosis and treatment of the aforementioned diseases. This study presents a practical guide for the evaluation of the RRT, based on literature data. With appropriate education and compliance to the vision screening protocols, the pediatric society could reduce the incidence of preventable pediatric blindness.