The Influence of Alternate Part-Time Patching on Control of Intermittent Exotropia: A Randomized Clinical Trial Publisher Pubmed



Akbari MR¹ ; Mehrpour M¹ ; Mirmohammadsadeghi A¹
Source: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology Published:2021

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of alternate part-time patching on deviation control in patients with intermittent exotropia in comparison to observation. Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, untreated 3–8-year-old children with intermittent exotropia were randomly divided into patching group who treated with alternate part-time patching and observation group. Deviation control was assessed with 3-point and 6-point scales. Stereoacuity and suppression were evaluated with Titmus and Worth-4-dot tests respectively. All exams were repeated 3 and 6 months after beginning of treatment. Results: Seventy-six patients (35 in patching and 41 in observation group) with a mean age of 4.99 ± 1.33 years completed the 6-month course of study. Based on 3-point scale, deviation control was significantly better in patching group after 3 and 6 months at near and after 3 months at far (p = 0.011, 0.011, and 0.03, respectively) but non-significant after 6 months at far (p = 0.16). According to 6-point scale, deviation control was also significantly better in patching group after 3 months (p = 0.03 at far, 0.003 at near) and 6 months (p = 0.03 at far, 0.003 at near). Three and 6 months stereoacuity was not significantly different between groups (p = 0.86 for both). However, there was greater stereoacuity changes among patching group in comparison with observation group from baseline to 3 and 6 months (p = 0.006 for both). Conclusion: Patching seems effective in improving deviation control of 3–8-year-old children with intermittent exotropia in comparison with observation based on two common office control scales. Trial registration number and date: NCT03700632 (10/9/2018) © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.