Abstract
Purpose :
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of monocular action video game therapy compared with passive occlusion therapy in children aged 4 to 10 years with anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia without previous treatment.
Methods :
In this randomized clinical trial, 28 participants were prescribed with the optimal refractive error correction, and at 8-10 weeks were randomly assigned to the occlusion with action video game (AVG) group (N=14) or two hours passive occlusion alone group (N=14). Visual acuity (VA), stereoacuity (ST), and contrast sensitivity (CS) were measured at baseline and 14, 28, and 42h after treatment. Compliance was monitored using the parental registry and Google Analytics.
Results :
The mean age and standard deviation (±) of the participants were 5.80 ± 1,54 years, 14 were strabismic amblyopes and 14 were anisometropic amblyopes. After 42h of occlusion with playing AVG, the mean VA improved by 0.17 logMAR in the non-dominant eye and by 0.01 logMAR in the dominant eye. In the passive occlusion group, the VA of the non-dominant eye improved by 0.07 logMAR and by 0.01 logMAR in the dominant eye. Significant improvements in the VA of the non-dominant eye were found for both, the AVG group (P<0.01) and the passive occlusion group (P=0.04). The differences in VA observed in the dominant eye were not significant for either group, (AVG P=0,480 and passive occlusion P=0,318). No significant differences in stereoacuity improvement were observed between AVG group 0,30 ±0,05 log arc sec improvement) and occlusion group (0,19 ± 0,10 log arc sec improvement) (P=0.074). Mean contrast sensitivity was measured for spatial frequencies of 3, 6, 12, and 18 cpd. No statistical changes were observed in the contrast sensitivity function in either frequency between groups.
Conclusions :
In patients aged 4–10 years with anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia, VA improved with monocular AVG as well as with passive occlusion. However, VA improvement was found to be faster with the use of AVG, suggesting that the combination of occlusion and AVG can provide greater effectiveness in improving VA in children with amblyopia.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.