Amblyopia is a disorder of the ocular-neural tracts resulting in decreased visual acuity in one or both eyes. It is usually as a results from disorders in the eye itself. It is difficult to elicit symptoms of Amblyopia in infants, hence history and physical exam are important. Diagnosis is via a formal optometric examination. Treatment involves correcting the cause and patching the non-amblyogenic eye. Results are best seen in young and compliant patients.
Types of Amblyopia according to cause
| Type of amblyopia | Description |
|---|---|
| Strabismic amblyopia | Amblyopia in the non-dominant eye of the strabismic patient |
| Refractive amblyopia | Amblyopia in the eye with worse refractive error |
| Deprivation amblyopia | Amblyopia due to ptosis or long-standing opacities which interfere with proper use of the retina |
| Toxic amblyopia | Amblyopia secondary to Vitamin Deficiency (e.g. Folate), Lead toxicity, Methanol poisoning, chloramphenicol, ethambutol and digoxin |
- Pathophysiology
- The brain suppresses images from a poorly-seeing eye due to inequivalent images (overlapping image, poor quality etc.).
- This results in an irreversible degree of cortical blindness in the affected eye.
- Signs and symptoms
- Decreased visual acuity during routine exam
- Poor vision
- Blurry vision
- Difficulty distinguishing letters/numbers
- Clues in infants
- Features of strabismus
- Unequal red-reflex
- Lenticular opacities
- FHx of pediatric eye disease
- Treatment
- Remove any cataracts or opacities
- Correct refractive errors with corrective lenses
- Patch the non-amblyogenic eye
- Strabismus surgery
