Effect and sustainability of part-time occlusion therapy for patients with anisometropic amblyopia aged > or =8 years.
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect and long-term sustainability of part-time occlusion therapy for anisometropic amblyopia after 8 years of age.


METHODS
A total of 41 anisometropic amblyopes aged > or =8 years were analysed. In six patients, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of amblyopic eye improved more than two lines within 2 weeks of full-time spectacle wear. The remaining patients were assigned to perform part-time patching during out-of-school hours. Long-term results were assessed in patients who were observed over 1 year after the end of the treatment.


RESULTS
Among 35 patients, four dropped out, refusing further treatment, and one changed to atropine penalisation. The part-time patching schedule was completed in 30 patients. 90% of patients (27/30) complied well. Mean BCVA in the amblyopic eye improved significantly (p<0.001), and 96.7% of patients (29/30) achieved the final BCVA of 0.1 logMAR or better. In long-term results, 87% preserved the BCVA of 0.1 logMAR or better. None of four dropouts achieved the BCVA of 0.1 logMAR or better in long-term results even on the continuous spectacle wear.


CONCLUSIONS
The part-time occlusion treatment in school-aged amblyopes, which had been carried out after school hours, was successful and the effect was sustained in most cases.
Department of Ophthalmology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang-City, Gyeong-gi-Do, 431-070, Republic of Korea.
D J
DJ
Hwang
Y J
YJ
Kim
J Y
JY
Lee
D000293:Adolescent; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D003867:Depth Perception; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology