A prospective, pilot study of treatment of amblyopia in children 10 to <18 years old☆
Abstract
Purpose
To determine whether amblyopia can be successfully treated in older children and adolescents.
Design
Prospective, single group treatment trial.
Methods
Sixty-six amblyopic patients aged 10 to <18 years with amblyopic eye acuity of 20/40 to 20/160 were treated with daily patching (≥2 hours a day) combined with at least 1 hour of near activities. Visual acuity was measured before and after 2 months of prescribed treatment.
Results
Visual acuity improved 2 or more lines from baseline in 18 (27%) of the 66 patients (95% confidence interval, 17%–40%), and the improvement appeared similar in 10- to <14-year-olds and 14- to <18-year-olds.
Conclusions
Amblyopia treatment can improve visual acuity in older children and adolescents. A randomized controlled trial is needed to determine if there is an upper age limit for which amblyopia treatment is successful.
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- * A listing of the Writing Committee and the investigators who participated in the study appears at the end of the article.
☆ Supported by a cooperative agreement from the National Eye Institute grant EY11751.InternetAdvance publication at ajo.com August 28, 2003
PII: S0002-9394(03)01006-7
doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2003.08.043
© 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
