Comparison between dominant and non-dominant eyes in response to therapy for bilateral ametropic amblyopia

Abstract

Objective To compare the therapeutic efficacy between dominant and non-dominant eyes under the same level of treatment intensity for bilateral ametropic amblyopia.Methods From January 2011 to December 2012,200 eyes of 100 children with bilateral ametropic amblyopia (visual acuity ≤ 1 line difference between the two eyes) who treated in Shantou Center Hospital were classified as dominant eye or non-dominant eye groups based on Card-Hole measurement.After atropine mydrisis,retinoscopy optometry measurement and vision correction,all the eyes were treated with the same combination of trainings,including glasses,fine eyesight training,and CAM stimulator to two eyes.The improvement in visual acuity and elementary cure rate were examined at 1,3,6,and 12 months.Results Dominant eyes remained the dominant trait after training.At 1,3,6,and 12 months after training,the improvement in visual acuity was (2.23±1.11),(3.00±1.33),(3.48± 1.40) and (3.72±1.42) lines,respectively,in the dominant eyes; and they were (1.93±1.27),(2.98± 1.35),(3.49±1.42) and (3.73±1.38) lines in the non-dominant eyes respectively.The elementary cure rate was 51.0％ (51/100),78.0％ (78/100) and 82.0％ (82/100) in the dominant eyes and 36.0％ (36/100),74.0％ (74/100),82.0％ (82/100) and 86.0％ (86/100) in the non-dominant eyes respectively.The dominant eyes showed greater improvement in both visual acuity and elementary cure rate at 1month compared with the non-dominant eyes (t =4.18,P ＜0.01,x2=4.58,P=0.03),but the differences were no longer statistically significant at 3,6 and 12months (P ＞0.05).Conclusions Dominant eyes remain dominant after receiving therapy for bilateral ametropic amblyopia in children.Dominant eyes appear to have greater therapeutic efficacy compared with non-dominant eyes in short term. Key words: Ametropic amblyopia; Dominant eye; Therapeutic efficacy