Abstract
Purpose :
To describe a rare phenomenon of anisometropic amblyopia in the emmetropic eye.
Methods :
The cohort included all children with anisometropic amblyopia attending a tertiary medical center in 2014-2016 in whom amblyopia was diagnosed in the more emmetropic or myopic eye. The medical records were reviewed for demographic parameters, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) for each eye, refraction, treatment, glasses prescription, follow-up, and final BCVA.
Results :
Six patients, 4 female and 2 male, met the study criteria. Mean age at diagnosis was 9 years (range 7-11 years). Median refraction in the amblyopic (right) eyes was -2.25 sphere [0- (-4.5)] with -0.71 cylinder [0- (-1.5)] in 117°, and in the preferred (non-amblyopic) eyes, +1.54 sphere (0.5-3.25) with -0.38 cylinder [0- (-0.75)] in 176°. Corresponding mean BCVA values were LogMAR 0.55 (0.3-1.2) and LogMAR 0.03 (0-0.1); mean spherical difference was 3.38 (1-6). None of the children had an additional pathology. Treatment consisted of full cycloplegic spherical refractive correction or the closest possible while maintaining BCVA, with mild modified subjective correction of the cylinder
Conclusions :
In rare cases of anisometropia in which amblyopia is diagnosed late, the emetropic eye may be preferred. Clinicians should be alert to this phenomenon as treatment requires some modification of conventional glasses prescription. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying pathophysiology .
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.