OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity of three methods of central scotoma localization. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients (range 10-78 years) were referred to the Service of Subnormal Vision of the São Geraldo Hospital (Minas Gerais Federal University, School of Medicine) with previous diagnosis of diseases with central scotoma. The Asmler grid, face observation and near acuity test observation methods were used. RESULTS: Among these methods, the one which presented the highest percentile of patients that reported scotoma presence was the Asmler grid (63.6%), followed by face observation (47.3%) and near acuity test observation (30.9%) (p<0.05). The three methods presented low sensitivity, possibly explained by the plasticity of the visual system trying to compensate the scotoma area. CONCLUSION: The present result demonstrates that new techniques should be developed to improve the sensitivity of scotoma localization methods.
Scotoma; Vision, low; Observation; Vision tests
