The Functional Impact of Amblyopia on Visual Skills In Children

Purpose:- To assess the efficiency of visual functions and visual skills in strabismic & anisometropic amblyopes and to assess visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in anisometropic amblyopes with spectacles & contact lenses. Methods:- In a prospective clinical study, 32 children aged 5 to 15 years presenting with amblyopia in the pediatric department of Shri Ganapati Netralaya Jalna, India, were assessed. Visual acuity was measured with Snellen’s and Bailey-lovie log MAR charts and contrast sensitivity was measured with Pelli-Robson chart with spectacles and contact lenses. Saccadic movements were assessed with SCCO scoring criteria and accommodative facility was checked with ±1.50 DS flippers. Stereopsis was assessed with TNO test. Results:- By using Wilcoxon sign rank test p-value < 0.05 (<0.001), the mean linear visual acuity was 0.29 (˜6/21) and mean single optotype visual acuity was found to be 0.36 (˜6/18). Mean visual acuity of 0.27(˜6/21) with spectacles improved to 0.33 (˜6/18) with contact lenses in amblyopic eyes. The mean Log MAR visual acuity with spectacles and contact lens was found to be 0.602(˜6/24) and 0.531(˜6/21) respectively. The contrast threshold of 20 amblyopic eyes showed that the mean contrast threshold changed in 9 patients from 0.27 (spectacles) to 0.19 (contact lens). The mean accommodative facility was 5.31 (±2.37). 24 subjects (75%) revealed marked saccadic defects on the test applied. 78% subjects didn’t show even gross stereoscopic ability on TNO test. Conclusion:- This study supports the facts about amblyopia and associated deficits in visual skills which were claimed in previous studies. In addition, anisometropic amblyopia can be managed better with contact lenses than spectacles. Functional amblyopia occurs before 6-8 years of age and is attributable to form deprivation, strabismus, or anisometropia. Age of onset of amblyopia in humans is