Retinal sensitivity and fixation analysis using microperimetry in children with anisometropic amblyopia

Abstract

Purpose: To determine retinal sensitivity and fixation in children with anisometropic amblyopia using macular analyzer integrity assessment (MAIA) microperimetry (CenterVue).Methods: Amblyopic and non-amblyopic eyes of 39 children with the diagnosis of anisometropic amblyopia were compared using MAIA microperimetry in terms of average threshold, fixation indexes (P1 and P2), and bivariate contour ellipse area (BCEA) for 95% and 63% of points. The correlations between visual acuity and microperimetry parameters were also analyzed.Results: The mean average threshold was 26.6 +/- 5.9 dB for amblyopic eyes and 28.6 +/- 1.9 dB for fellow eyes (P = .003). The mean P1 index was 80.2% +/- 20.3% for amblyopic eyes and 87.6% +/- 8.7% for fellow eyes (P = .032). The mean P2 index was 92.5% +/- 9.6% and 943% +/- 4.8% for amblyopic eyes and fellow eyes, respectively. The mean BCEA95 value was 12.9 degrees(2) +/- 17.2 degrees(2) and 9.4 degrees(2) +/- 82 degrees(2) and the mean BCEA63 value was 4.4 degrees(2) +/- 5.6 degrees(2) and 3.1 degrees(2) +/- 2.7 degrees(2) for amblyopic eyes and fellow eyes, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found for those parameters (P > .05).Conclusions: Retinal sensitivity and P1 fixation index were significantly lower in amblyopic eyes compared to non-amblyopic eyes. Because measuring visual acuity does not represent all functions of the visual system, microperimetric evaluation may give extra information about total visual function of amblyopic eyes.