Long term visual outcome in amblyopia treatment

Aim: To evaluate long term visual outcome of treatment for amblyopia. Methods: In a previous study, 44 children with unilateral amblyopia caused by strabismus or anisometropia were enrolled in a prospective study investigating the results of treatment, All children were regularly examined up to at least 8 years of age and outcome was evaluated. All subjects were invited to a re-examination and in total 26 subjects attended, Two of these were excluded because of insufficient records. The final sample consists of 24 subjects. Mean follow up time was 10.4 (SD 1.9) years. Results: For the amblyopic eyes, 17% deteriorated in visual acuity, 50% were stable, and 33% gained in visual acuity. For the non-amblyopic eyes, 8% lost one line in visual acuity, 38% were stable, and 54% gained in visual acuity. No eye in any subject shifted more than 0.2 logMAR units. The increase in visual acuity for the non-amblyopic eyes was significant, while the increase for the amblyopic eyes was not. All straight eyed anisometropic amblyopes showed a distinct decrease in magnitude of anisometropia. Conclusions: Visual acuity was essentially stable in the amblyopic eyes 10 years after cessation of treatment in the studied population.