Intensive screening can improve amblyopia outcomes

BRISTOL, England — Early screening for amblyopia leads to better visual outcomes than delayed screening, according to a large, long-term study here.

Initiating an intensive screening protocol leads to better acuity in the amblyopic eye and a lower prevalence of amblyopia at 7.5 years of age, according to the study.

There has been debate about the appropriateness of and necessity for preschool vision screening. This study found that children treated for amblyopia were four times more likely to remain amblyopic if they were screened only at age 3 than if they were screened repeatedly starting at 8 months of age.

Researchers here with the Bristol Eye Hospital included 3,490 children in a randomized trial. The intensive group had orthoptic screening at 8, 12, 18, 25, 31 and 37 months, while the control group was screened for amblyopia at 37 months only.

Amblyopia at 7.5 years was less prevalent in the intensive group than in the control group (P = .02). Mean visual acuities in the worse seeing eye were better for children who had been treated for amblyopia in the intensive group than for similar children in the control group (P < .001).

The study is published in the June 29 issue of BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal).