The outcome and related factors in anisometropic amblyopia in elder children and teenagers

Objective To investigate the outcome of anisometropic amblyopia therapy in children aged 7-17 years old and to identify factors which influence the outcome of treatment. Methods A retrospective study of 72 patients with anisometropic amblyopia aged 7-17 years old were included in this study. All the patients received refractive correction, occlusion of the sound eye and red scintillation. In addition, patients with eccentric fixation received Haidinger brush and afterimage therapy. Corrected visual acuity was considered improved as visual acuity was elevated by ≥2 lines. Results The best corrected visual acuity of the amblyopic eye was 0.28±0.18, 0.49±0.28, 0.60±0.32, 0.70±0.35 before treatment, after 3 months’, 6 months’ and 1year treatment. Among all the 72 patients, 55 patients’ visual acuity improved after 1-year treatment (76.4%). Only 8 patients’ visual acuity improved in 21 patients with eccentric fixation (38.1%), while 47 patients’ visual acuity improved in 51 patients with centric fixation (92.2%). 13, 33, 9 patients’ visual acuity improved in 26 severe, 37 moderate, 9 mild anisometropic amblyopia patients respectively. No one could get improved visual acuity without compliance. Conclusions Good results can be attained through combined therapy in older children with anisometropic amblyopia. The results are related to the initial severity of amblyopia, fixation of the amblyopic eye and compliance. Better outcome can be obtained in patients with mild to moderate amblyopia, centric fixation and good compliance. Key words: Anisometropic amblyopia; Older children; Therapy of amblyopia