EC Ophthalmology

Significance: Anisometropic amblyopia caused by uncorrected refractive error can eventually result in suppression of one or both eyes. The consequence of suppression may develop squint, loss of stereopsis, reduced contrast sensitivity and vision deprivation. Vision therapy as a novel approach treatment can contribute to improve the amount of stereo acuity by engaging young children in visual tasks under office-based therapy.

Purpose: The goal of this retrospective study is to evaluate the changes in vision and stereo acuity after active vision therapy. This retrospective analysis aimed to understand the efficacy of current treatment in managing anisometropic amblyopia in children within the specified age range, especially for those non-responders to conventional treatment.

Methods: Retrospectively, fifteen children were selected as non-responders to conventional patching treatment. The Inclusion criteria comprised children aged between 6 and 18 years, who had undergone cycloplegic refraction before prescribing glasses. Exclusion criteria included children with a history of previous occlusion therapy, as well as those presenting with strabismus and ocular pathologies.

Results: The mean visual acuity for the amblyopic eye before therapy was 0.48 logMAR. The post-therapy mean distance visual acuity of the amblyopic eye improved significantly, up to 0.013 logMAR. Before therapy, the subjects exhibited suppression in amblyopia. However, post-therapy intervention, there was a remarkable improvement in stereopsis, with a mean value of 125 ± 46 sec of arc after undergoing active office-based therapy combined with home exercises. Furthermore, no deterioration in vision and stereopsis was seen even after 3 months of any intervention to ensure no relapse of amblyopia and would be promising management of amblyopia.

Conclusion: Active vision therapy showed significant improvement in improving vision and enhancing binocularity reflected through stereo acuity.

 Keywords: Refractive Error; Anisometropic Amblyopia; Binocular Vision Disorder; Vision Therapy

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