Comparison of Treatment Methods in Functional Amblyopies

Objective: To compare the effects of full-time patching, minimal patching and Cambridge visual stimulator (CAM) treatment on visual acuity in amblyopic patients.

Material and Method: Ninety five patients with functional amblyopia were divided into three groups so that age and initial visual acuity did not make any significant difference. Those who received CAM treatment in the first group, those who underwent full-time patching in the second group, and those who had minimal patching in the third group were included. Patients with a follow-up period of less than six months were excluded from the study. The increase in visual acuity of the patients were compared between the groups. In addition, the participants were classified according to presence of foveal fixation, cause of amblyopia and age, and these data were compared for all patients.

Results: 31 patients who received CAM treatment, 30 patients who underwent full-time patching and 34 patients who underwent minimal patching were included in the study. The mean age of the groups was 5.50 ± 2.05; 5.96 ± 1.59 and 6.57 ± 2.31 respectively (p = 0.105). While the mean visual acuity was 0.45 ± 0.28logMAR before the treatment in the CAM treatment group, it was 0.31 ± 0.25 logMAR after the treatment. It was changed from 0.50 ± 0.16logMAR to 0.27 ± 0.16logMAR in the full-time patching group and it was increased from 0.52 ± 0.25 logMAR to 0.30 ± 0.21logMAR in the minimal patching group. While the increase in visual acuity revealed no significant difference between the full-time patching and minimal patching groups(p = 0.994), the increase in both groups was more than the CAM treatment group and the difference was statistically significant. (p = 0.029 for full-time patching-CAM and p = 0.032 for minimal patching-CAM). When various groupings were made with all patients regardless of treatment methods, these groups had more succesful results than opposing groups: those have foveal fixation, those with amlyopia casused by only anisometropia and those whose treatment was initiated before six years old. (p=0.004, p=0.021, p=0.002, respectively) Conclusion: According to the data in this study, more successful results are obtained with patching treatments than CAM treatment.