Purpose: To evaluate factors associated with the direction of horizontal deviation in the sensory strabismus of patients with unilateral organic amblyopia.
Methods: The medical charts of 53 patients who had been diagnosed with sensory strabismus between 2000 and 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. The underlying ocular disease, time of onset and the duration of vision impairment, refractive error and axial length of the fixing eye, and the direction and angle of deviation were analyzed to determine the distribution of underlying diseases and any factors relevant to determining the direction of the horizontal deviation.
Results: Congenital cataracts were the most common underlying disease, found in 33 patients, followed by acquired cataracts, optic nerve disorders, retinal detachment, glaucoma and lens subluxation. Among the 50 patients with horizontal strabismus, 11 had esotropia and 39 had exotropia. The incidence of esotropia was significantly higher when the fixing eye had hyperopia or emmetropia, than when the eye was myopic. Age of onset of vision deterioration and at diagnosis of sensory strabismus, and the axial length of the fixing eye had no relationship to the direction of horizontal deviation. In addition, the duration of visual impairment had no significant relationship with the direction or extent of horizontal deviation.
Conclusions: The most common cause of sensory strabismus was congenital cataracts and the most frequent type of strabismus was exotropia. With respect to the direction of horizontal strabismus, esotropia occurred significantly more often when the refractive error of the fixing eye was hyperopia or emmetropia than when the fixing eye was myopic.
Keywords: Amblyopia; Cataract; Strabismus; Visual acuity.