Efficacy of vision therapy for unilateral refractive amblyopia in children aged 7–10 years

BACKGROUND: There is a critical period for visual development, conventionally considered to be the first 6 years of life. Children aged 7 years and older are significantly less responsive to amblyopia treatment. This study investigated the efficacy of binocular vision therapy in amblyopic children aged 7–10 years. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 36 children with unilateral amblyopia who were divided into a case group (receiving vision therapy, optical correction, and part-time patching of the weaker eye) and a control group (receiving optical correction and part-time patching of the weaker eye). Visual acuity (VA) was measured at baseline, at the 3-month, 6-month, and 9-month visits, and 3 months after cessation of treatment. RESULTS: There were 19 subjects in the case group and 17 subjects in the control group. Mean VA in the case group improved from 0.39 ± 0.24 logMAR at baseline to 0.10 ± 0.23 logMAR at the endpoint of treatment (p < 0.001, paired t-test). Mean VA in the control group improved from 0.64 ± 0.30 logMAR at baseline to 0.52 ± 0.27 logMAR at the endpoint of treatment (p = 0.015, paired t-test). The improvement was significantly greater in the case group than in the control group (p = 0.006, two-samples independent t-test). All subjects underwent follow-up examinations within 6 to 12 months. There was no regression of VA in the case group 3 months after cessation of vision therapy. The patients in the case group who received visual therapy were with better VA improvement then patients with only optic correction and patching. CONCLUSIONS: Vision therapy combined with conventional treatment (optical correction and part-time patching) is more effective than conventional treatment alone in children aged 7–10 years with unilateral refractive amblyopia. The treatment results not only in greater vision gain, but also in shorter duration of treatment.