[Strabismic amblyopia: a retrospective study on patients from a university hospital].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the influence of compliance with treatment, severity of amblyopia and age at the beginning of treatment in patients with strabismic amblyopia submitted to patching.


METHODS
The data were selected from medical records of 569 patients seen at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of São Paulo during the period of 1983 to 2000.


METHODS
loss of follow-up, age over 12 years, presence of nystagmus and other ocular diseases. The patients were divided into four groups according to age and classified based on the type of strabismus, compliance with treatment and severity of amblyopia. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's test.


RESULTS
198 (34.8%) patients were enrolled in the study. There was no difference regarding compliance among the age groups. The best success rate was obtained when there was good compliance with the treatment, independent of the degree of amblyopia. But worse compliance was observed among the patients with more severe amblyopia, who were the majority of patients of the study, and who showed the worst success rate. The success rate was not related to the patients' age.


CONCLUSIONS
The study showed that compliance with patching plays a fundamental role in therapeutic efficacy. Thus, age at the beginning of treatment alone did not influence the success rate since it was possible to obtain good compliance independent of age. In addition, worse results were associated with severe amblyopia and less compliance.
Costa
Deborah Salerno
DS
Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. deborahsalerno@yahoo.com.br
Klein
Rita de Cássia Andrade
Rde C
Leite
Cristiane de Almeida
Cde A
Ginguerra
Maria Antonieta da Anunciação
MA
Polati
Mariza
M
D000367:Age Factors; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D001458:Bandages; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013285:Strabismus / Q000150:complications*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity