A cross-sectional study of ophthalmologic examination findings in 5385 Koreans presenting with intermittent exotropia

The Korean Intermittent Exotropia Multicenter Study (KIEMS) was a retrospective, cross-sectional and multicenter study for the investigation of intermittent exotropia involved 65 strabismus specialists from 53 institutions in Korea. Purpose of this study was to present ophthalmologic findings of intermittent exotropia from the KIEMS. Consecutive patients with intermittent exotropia of ≥ 8 prism diopters (PD) at distance or near fixation were included. Best-corrected visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction data, angles of deviation at several cardinal positions, ocular dominance, fusion control, oblique muscle function, and binocular sensory outcomes were collected. A total of 5385 participants (2793 females; age 8.2 years) were included. Non-dominant eye was more myopic than the dominant eye (− 0.60 vs. − 0.47 diopters, P < 0.001). Mean exodeviation angles were 23.5 PD at distance and 25.0 PD at near fixation. Basic type (86.2%) was the most, followed by convergence insufficiency (9.4%) and divergence excess (4.4%) types. Alternating ocular dominance and good fusion control were more common at near than at distance fixation. Good stereopsis at 40 cm was observed in 49.3% in Titmus stereo test (≤ 60 arcsec) and in 71.0% in Randot stereo test (≤ 63 arcsec). Intermittent exotropia was mostly diagnosed in childhood and patients with the condition showed relatively good binocular functions. This study may provide objective findings of intermittent exotropia in a most reliable way, given that the study included a large study population and investigated comprehensive ophthalmology examinations.