Published in:
01-07-2011 | Clinical Investigation
Eye patching as a treatment for amblyopia in children aged 10–16 years
Published in: Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology | Issue 4/2011
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Purpose
To investigate the effects of full-time patching regimen on the treatment of amblyopia in children aged 10–16 years.
Methods
Forty-seven patients with a mean age of 12.09 ± 1.65 years were included in this study. All of the patients received eye patching for the entire day, 6 days a week, during the first 3 months. The patients who achieved visual acuity of 0.00 logMAR at the third month were provided with additional patching treatment (4–6 h/day). On the other hand, the patients who showed no change in their visual acuity or an increase of less than 0.00 logMAR at the third month had 3 more months of eye patching for the entire day, 6 days a week.
Results
Prior to treatment, the best mean visual acuity of the amblyopic eyes was 0.48 ± 0.25 (range 1.00–0.15) logMAR. After follow-up, the visual acuity of the amblyopic eyes was 0.20 ± 0.22 (range 1.00–0.00) logMAR. Thus, visual acuity in the amblyopic eyes improved by 0.2 log unit or more in 38 of 47 patients (81%).
Conclusions
The present results show that patching in older children with amblyopia improves visual acuity with no serious complications. The use of patching in children to improve amblyopia seems promising.