title: Two-year follow-up of a 6-month randomized trial of atropine vs patching for treatment of moderate amblyopia in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare patching and atropine sulfate as treatments for moderate amblyopia in children 18 months after completion of a 6-month randomized trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a randomized, multicenter (47 sites) clinical trial, 419 children younger than 7 years with amblyopia (20/40 to 20/100 in the affected eye) were assigned to receive either patching or atropine eye drops for 6 months. Between 6 months and 2 years, treatment was at the discretion of the investigator. Main Outcome Measure Visual acuity in the amblyopic eye and sound eye after 2 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 2 years, visual acuity in the amblyopic eye improved from baseline a mean of 3.7 lines in the patching group and 3.6 lines in the atropine group. The difference in visual acuity between treatment groups was small: 0.01 logMAR (95% confidence interval, -0.02 to 0.04). In both treatment groups, the mean amblyopic eye acuity was approximately 20/32, 1.8 lines worse than the mean sound eye acuity, which was approximately 20/20.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Atropine or patching for 6 months followed by best clinical care until 2 years produced similar improvement of moderate amblyopia in children between 3 and 7 years of age at enrollment. However, on average the amblyopic eye acuity was still approximately 2 lines worse than the sound eye.
authors.affiliation: Jaeb Center for Health Research, Tampa, FL 33647, USA. pedig@jaeb.org
authors.forename: Michael X
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Repka
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: Roy W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Raymond T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Kraker
authors.forename: Eileen E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Donahue
authors.forename: Donald F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Everett
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Hertle
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Graham E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Mitchell M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Scheiman
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Weakley
mesh_terms: D000550:Amblyopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001285:Atropine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009184:Mydriatics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009184:Mydriatics; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D001285:Atropine