>b<Mensuração da acuidade visual de cães da raça Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pelo potencial visual evocado de varredura (PVEV)>/b<

Abstract

Visual evaluation plays an essential role in the ophthalmic examination in human beings. Some objective techniques are required to achieve gratin visual acuity (VA) in non verbal people, like babies or infants in pre-verbal ages. The Sweep-Visual Evoked Potential (S-VEP) is suggested to be the most feasible electrophysiologic technique to measure visual acuity. In Veterinary Medicine, researches regarding S-VEP standadization and VA values according to age are still scarce. The anatomical peculiarities of each breed directly influence in visual acuity. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine standard values of visual acuity in Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS) dogs in different ages and to define the moment of visual maturation in this breed. 50 CKCS dogs were selected and divides into five groups by age criteria: G1 (20 days of age), G2 (30 days), G3 (45 days), G4 (90 days), G5 (1 to 2 years old). The S-VEP was performed by Roland RETIport system electrodiagnostic device and the VA values were obtained in cicles per degree (cpd), Snellen Equivalent, decimal and LogMAR. Statstical analysis was based on Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Dunn test, whenever it was required, using the statistical software Prism 5 for Windows (GraphPad Software). The median of the groups (from G1 to G5) were respectly 1,250; 1,750; 3,775; 4,000 e 4,135cpg. A statistical difference was observed between G1 x G3, and G2 x G3, unlike G3 x G4 x G5, that didn´t show differences between these three older groups, suggesting a plateau of VA values. Based on the results, the visual maturity of the subjects studied was achieved by 30 and 45 days of life.