A Randomized Trial of Binocular Dig Rush Game Treatment for Amblyopia in Children Aged 7 to 12 Years.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2019

Identifier

DOI: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2018.10.032; PMCID: PMC6402824

Abstract

PURPOSE: To compare visual acuity (VA) improvement in children aged 7 to 12 years with amblyopia treated with a binocular iPad game plus continued spectacle correction vs. continued spectacle correction alone.

DESIGN: Multicenter randomized clinical trial.

PARTICIPANTS: One hundred thirty-eight participants aged 7 to 12 years with amblyopia (33-72 letters, i.e., approximately 20/200 to 20/40) resulting from strabismus, anisometropia, or both. Participants were required to have at least 16 weeks of optical treatment in spectacles if needed or demonstrate no improvement in amblyopic-eye visual acuity (VA) for at least 8 weeks prior to enrollment.

METHODS: Eligible participants (mean age 9.6 years, mean baseline VA of 59.6 letters, history of prior amblyopia treatment other than spectacles in 96%) were randomly assigned to treatment for 8 weeks with the dichoptic binocular Dig Rush iPad game (prescribed for 1 hour per day 5 days per week) plus spectacle wear if needed (n = 69) or continued spectacle correction alone if needed (n = 69).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in amblyopic-eye VA from baseline to 4 weeks, assessed by a masked examiner.

RESULTS: At 4 weeks, mean amblyopic-eye VA letter score improved from baseline by 1.3 (2-sided 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.1-2.6; 0.026 logMAR) with binocular treatment and by 1.7 (2-sided 95% CI: 0.4-3.0; 0.034 logMAR) with continued spectacle correction alone. After adjusment for baseline VA, the letter score difference between groups (binocular minus control) was -0.3 (95% CI: -2.2 to 1.5, P = 0.71, difference of -0.006 logMAR). No difference in letter scores was observed between groups when the analysis was repeated after 8 weeks of treatment (adjusted mean: -0.1, 98.3% CI: -2.4 to 2.1). For the binocular group, adherence data from the iPad indicated that slightly more than half of the participants (58% and 56%) completed >75% of prescribed treatment by the 4- and 8-week visits, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: In children aged 7 to 12 years who have received previous treatment for amblyopia other than spectacles, there was no benefit to VA or stereoacuity from 4 or 8 weeks of treatment with the dichoptic binocular Dig Rush iPad game.

Journal Title

Ophthalmology

Volume

126

Issue

3

First Page

456

Last Page

466

MeSH Keywords

Amblyopia; Anisometropia; Child; Computers, Handheld; Eyeglasses; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Strabismus; Treatment Outcome; Video Games; Vision, Binocular; Visual Acuity

Keywords

Amblyopia; Anisometropia; Eyeglasses; Strabismus; Treatment Outcome; Video Games; Binocular Vision; Visual Acuity

Link to Full Text
Library Record

Share

COinS