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Study: Long-term myopic shift seen after treatment for amblyopia
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Both eyes of patients with amblyopia tend undergo a myopic shift over long-term follow-up, regardless of the type of amblyopia, according to a retrospective study.
Robert P. Rutstein, OD, and David A. Corliss, OD, PhD, reviewed the records of 61 patients with strabismic amblyopia, anisometropic amblyopia or isoametropic amblyopia who were treated from 1983 to 1993. All patients had at least 4 years follow-up after ending treatment.
A nonsignificant regression in visual acuity was seen in the amblyopic eyes of patients with strabismic amblyopia and anisometropic amblyopia, while a slight improvement in VA was seen in the nonamblyopic eyes of those patients, according to the study.
VA also improved significantly over time in patients with isoametropic amblyopia, the authors said.
Among 22 patients with strabismic amblyopia, mean VA improved 0.36 logMAR units in amblyopic eyes and 0.05 logMAR units in nonamblyopic eyes after 1 year of treatment. After a mean follow-up of 9.3 years after treatment, mean VA in the amblyopic eyes of these patients regressed 0.09 logMAR units, while in the nonamblyopic eyes VA improved 0.1 logMAR units.
Among 26 patients with anisometropic amblyopia, mean VA improved 0.3 logMAR units in the amblyopic eyes and 0.02 logMAR units in nonamblyopic eyes after a mean 1.1 year of treatment. After a mean 7.1 years follow-up after treatment, mean VA regressed 0.09 logMAR units in amblyopic eyes and improved 0.03 logMAR units in nonamblyopic eyes.
Among 13 patients with isoametropic amblyopia, mean VA in both right and left eyes improved from 0.39 logMAR units to 0.14 logMAR units a mean 8.9 years after treatment. Mean refractive error also significantly improved from –1.22 D to –2.68 D in right eyes and from –1.14 D to –2.56 D in left eyes, the authors noted.
The study is published in Optometry and Vision Science.