Amblyopia therapy in children with penetrating corneal injuries

BACKGROUND: The role of part-time occlusion therapy in children with penetrating ocular injuries has not been studied. The aim of the study is to analyze the role of part-time occlusion therapy in children with penetrating ocular trauma following surgical intervention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective case series with a median follow-up of 17 months (range: 3–105 months). The study was carried out at a tertiary referral center. Consecutive children with penetrating corneal tear injury who underwent surgical intervention were included in the study. These patients were subjected to part-time occlusion, and those with good compliance and follow-up were included in the study. The role of part-time occlusion therapy in children with ocular trauma is studied. RESULTS: There were 26 patients included in the study of which 23 were male and 3 were female, with a median age at presentation of 5 years (range: 1–11 years). The vision following surgical intervention at 6 weeks was 0.85 logMAR units (range: 0.3–2.8). Final median visual acuity was 0.48 logMAR units (range: 0–2). Paired t-test done for improvement in visual outcome before and after amblyopia therapy was statistically significant (P = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Amblyopia therapy shows promising results for patients following penetrating intraocular injury despite corneal scar in the visual axis in our group. A study on larger population is indicated.