Binocular Fixation Patterns in Children with Horizontal Strabismus

ABSTRACT

In children with horizontal strabismus, we observed and analysed binocular fixation pattern (BFP) pf each eye and the results of BFP were compared with visual acuity of each eye to evaluate the effect of BFP examination for diagnosis of the preferred eye. In BFP of the esotropes and intermittent exotropes with or without amblyopa, most of patients showed grade I of BFP in the preferred eyes and grade IV of BFP in the non-preferred eyes. The exotropes showed no significant amblyopia, and BFP of the preferred eyes were variable from grade I to IV while most of the non-preferred eyes showed grade IV of BFP. In the patients with visual improvement after occlusion therapy, about half of them showed an improvement in BFP. Therefore, the preferred and non-preferred eyes may be distinctive according to BFP in strabismic patients with amblyopia or not. The measurement of BFP may be an eefective method for diagnosis of the preferred eye in children with horizontal strabismus if it is combinded with the examination for visual acuity.