Treatment of Anisometropic Amblyopia with Spectacles or in Combination with Translucent Bangerter Filters

Purpose To compare spectacle correction alone with spectacle correction with Bangerter filters to treat anisometropic amblyopia in children. Design Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Participants Eighty children (mean age, 4.4 years) with untreated anisometropic amblyopia and a median best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the amblyopic eye of 0.4 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR). Methods Optimal refractive correction was provided, and the children were assigned to treatment with either spectacles or spectacles in combination with a Bangerter filter worn on the spectacle lens of the better eye. The BCVA, binocular function, and refractive errors were measured repeatedly over the course of 1 year. Main Outcome Measures The time course to resolution of the amblyopia (interocular difference, ≤1 line). Results The difference in the mean time to the resolution of amblyopia was 3.9±3.2 months for the spectacles group versus 2.2±1.9 months for the filter group, and the difference reached significance ( P