Prevalence of different types of intermittent exotropia among exotropic children at Ain Shams University ophthalmology outpatient clinic

Abstract

Introduction Intermittent exotropia ‘X(T)’ is a disorder of binocular eye movement control, in which one eye intermittently moves outward. It is the commonest type of exodeviation and is usually detected by the parents in early childhood. Patients with X(T) tend to manifest their deviation when they are tired, stressed, or have cold. Purpose To manifest the prevalence of different types of X(T) in exotropic children aged 6–12 years attending Ain Shams University ophthalmology outpatient clinic. Patients and methods This is a cross-sectional study including 139 exotropic children aged 6–12 years attending Ain Shams University ophthalmology outpatient clinic. All patients underwent full medical and ophthalmic history. The ophthalmic examinations included visual acuity, ocular movements, and the angles of deviation. Further ocular examinations included slit-lamp examination for anterior segment, fundus examination, and Worth 4-dot test. Results A total of 139 exotropic children (6–12 years old) attending the ophthalmology outpatient clinic of Ain Shams University were included. We found that X(T) is the commonest type of exodeviation, in 86.3%. The ‘basic type’ was the commonest subtype of X(T), in 84.2%. The true divergence excess was the second most common type, in 7.5%, pseudodivergence was seen in 5.8%, and the convergence insufficiency was the least common type seen in 2.5%. Conclusions Intermittent exotropia was the commonest type of exodeviation among children aged 6–12 years. The basic type was the commonest subtype of X(T).