Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Outcome of Occlusion Treatment for Amblyopia

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the factors affecting the outcome of occlusion treatment for amblyopia. METHODS: We analyzed 80 amblyopic patients who had been followed up more than 6 months after occlusion treatment according to the age at start of treatment, initial corrected visual acuity of amblyopic eye, difference of corrected visual acuity between two eyes, type of amblyopia, type of occlusion and patient compliance. RESULTS: Mean age was 6.01+/-1.76 (3~12) years at start of treatment and mean treatment period was 4.51+/-3.40 (2~12) months. Success of treatment was defined as optotype acuity of 0.5 or better in the amblyopic eye and less than one-line difference between the two eyes. The success rate was 74% (59/80) and the time for initial visual improvement was 1.57+/-0.77 months. The age at start of treatment did not correlate with the success rate and period of treatment. But the less the difference of corrected visual acuity between the two eyes and the greater the initial corrected visual acuity, the higher the success rate and the shorter the period of treatment. And the better the compliance, the higher the success rate. Aniosmetropic amblyopia and strabismic amblyopia had the higher success rate and shorter treatment of period than mixed type amblyopia. In anisometropic amblypia, hyperopic and astigmatic type had the shorter period of treatment than myopic type. In the group of the smaller difference in refractive error, the success rate was high and period of treatment was short. In strabismic amblyopia, exotropia had the higher success rate and shorter peroid of treatment than esotropia. But the prism diopter did not correlate with the success rate and period of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: For occlusion treatment of amblyopia, we must consider many factorsto establish the treatment plan and to predict the outcome of treatment.