Abstract
Purpose: :
To analyze pharmacologic effect of weekend atropine as a penalization treatment for amblyopia in Korean children with dark brown irides.
Methods: :
Visual acuity at distance and near, refractive error, near point of accommodation (NPA) and pupil size were recorded in a sound eye of 40 amblyopic children (mean age 6.26 ± 1.97 years) before and 60 minutes after receiving atropine sulfate 1% solution. Amblyopic children were divided into two groups according to follow-up visit; group 1 (4-day visit) and group 2 (7-day visit), and same tests were performed at scheduled follow-up visits. 20 normal children (mean age 7.11 ± 2.63 years) received the same tests as a control group at initial visit and scheduled follow-up visits.
Results: :
Visual acuity of sound eye at distance and near significantly decreased compared with that of amblyopic eye after atropine instillation. NPA significantly increased and visual acuity at near significantly decreased in amblyopic children compared with normal children. Group 2 showed less reduction in visual acuity at distance and near than group 1 at scheduled follow-up visits, but difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.20, 0.14, respectively). However, pupil size significantly decreased in group 2 (p = 0.02). Causes and severity of amblyopia did not have any significant influence on pharmacologic effect of atropine.
Conclusions: :
Atropine decreased vision of sound eye effectively in amblyopic children, but a significant penalization effect maintained only for several days. Therefore, two separate atropine instillation per week rather than weekend atropine should be considered in treatment for amblyopia in Korean children with dark brown irides.
Keywords: amblyopia • visual acuity • visual development: infancy and childhood