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Minimal daily patching improves intermittent exotropia, study finds
ORLANDO, Fla. — As little as 3 hours per day of patching therapy effectively improves intermittent exotropia outcomes, according to a presentation here.
“Part-time patching increases accommodative fusional convergence and reduces the angle of intermittent exotropia,” reported Yoonae A. Cho, MD, PhD, and colleagues from South Korea in a poster at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus meeting. Their study found that 3 hours of patching per day was effective in reducing exo-angle, at near, after 3 months of therapy.
Children in the study were between the ages of 4 and 12. Forty-four children had basic intermittent exotropia and 26 children had convergence insufficiency exotropia. Before patching therapy, children were evaluated for exo-angle deviation and distance-near difference. Mean deviating angles were 27.1 PD at distance and 30.6 PD at near.
After patching therapy of 3 hours per day, 50% of patients with basic and convergence-intermittent exotropia converted to pseudodivergence excess or basic intermittent exotropia. The mean deviating angle was reduced to 25.9 PD at distance and 21.4 PD at near.