Effect of vision therapy on children and adults with amblyopia who showed plateaued improvement after occlusion therapy.
Vision therapy linked to further visual acuity gains after occlusion therapy plateaued
Effect of vision therapy on children and adults with amblyopia who showed plateaued improvement after occlusion therapy.
To evaluate long‑term visual acuity (visual acuity) trends following a structured vision therapy protocol in patients with amblyopia who had plateaued after conventional occlusion therapy.
This prospective cohort study included 157 patients diagnosed with amblyopia who showed no further visual acuity improvement over at least three consecutive assessments during standard patching.
Significant visual acuity gains were observed across all age groups, with mean improvements of 0.24, 0.21, and 0.16 in decimal visual acuity for ages ≤ 8 years, 8-18 years, and >18 years, respectively.
The proportion of patients gaining ≥ 2 lines of visual acuity was highest in the ≤8 years (62.5%) and 8-18 years (62.5%) groups, compared with 35.4% in those > 18 years.
Isoametropic amblyopia showed the highest rate of ≥2‑line improvement (65.0%), followed by strabismic (63.6%) and anisometropic (44.2%) types.
Vision therapy can produce clinically meaningful and durable visual improvements in amblyopic patients who no longer respond to occlusion alone.
The present study also supports extending amblyopia treatment into adolescence and adulthood, while emphasizing the need for tailored approaches based on the etiology of amblyopia and age.