"A retrospective cohort study for prognostic significance of visual acuity for near over that for distance in anisometropic amblyopia.".

ABSTRACT

A cohort of 50 anisometropic amblyopes, between the ages of 2.5 to 10 years, was studied retrospectively to assess the prognostic significance of visual acuity for near over that for distance. There is ample evidence in the literature for a significantly lower accommodative response in the anisometropic amblyopic eye. It has been proposed that the efferent accommodative dysfunction may be a fundamental and causative factor in anisometropic amblyopia. A reduced visual acuity for near over that for distance was found in 17 [34%] patients and in 11 out of these the near vision improved after an addition of +3.0D sph. When a reduced visual acuity for near, was obtained it was difficult to determine whether the visual afferent system (due to insufficient visual input), or the accommodation efferent mechanism was responsible. However an improvement in corrected near vision by addition of +3.0D sph. suggested an accommodative dysfunction. In patients with reduced visual acuity for near over that for distance, not only was the final visual outcome poor but also the onset of visual improvement in response to amblyopia therapy was delayed.