Increasing Patching for Amblyopia in Children 3 to < 8 Years Old (ATS15)

This study is ongoing, but not recruiting participants.
Sponsor:
Collaborator:
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Jaeb Center for Health Research
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT00945100
First received: July 21, 2009
Last updated: August 2, 2012
Last verified: August 2012
  Purpose

This study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of increasing prescribed patching treatment from 2 to 6 daily hours after visual acuity has stabilized with initial treatment and amblyopia is still present. Children ages 3 to <8 years with visual acuity of 20/50 to 20/400 in the amblyopic eye will be enrolled in a run-in phase with 2 hours daily patching until no improvement, followed by randomization of eligible patients to patching 2 hours daily versus an average of 6 hours daily (42 hours per week). The primary objective is to determine if increasing patching dosage will improve visual acuity in patients with amblyopia still present after visual acuity has stabilized with initial treatment.


Condition Intervention Phase
Amblyopia
Device: Eye Patch
Phase 3

Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Treatment
Official Title: Increasing Patching for Amblyopia in Children 3 to < 8 Years Old

Further study details as provided by Jaeb Center for Health Research:

Primary Outcome Measures:
  • Amblyopic eye visual acuity [ Time Frame: 10 weeks after randomization ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:
  • Sound eye visual acuity [ Time Frame: 10 weeks after randomization ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  • Differences between treatment groups in stereoacuity [ Time Frame: 10 weeks after randomization ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  • Ocular alignment [ Time Frame: 10 weeks after randomization ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  • Treatment group comparison of the proportion of patients who have improved by 2 or more logMAR visual acuity lines [ Time Frame: 10 weeks after randomization ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • Patients in both groups who have improved by 1 or more lines from baseline to the 10-week outcome exam will have a treatment group comparison of the proportion of patients with at least 2 logMAR lines of visual acuity improvement [ Time Frame: Last study visit ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • Patients in both groups who have improved by 1 or more lines from baseline to the 10-week outcome exam will have a treatment group comparison of logMAR visual acuity scores in the amblyopic eye. [ Time Frame: Last study visit ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Estimated Enrollment: 158
Study Start Date: August 2009
Estimated Study Completion Date: March 2013
Estimated Primary Completion Date: December 2012 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Arms Assigned Interventions
Active Comparator: Control
2 hours daily patching
Device: Eye Patch
2 hours patching daily
Other Names:
  • Coverlet
  • 3M Opticlude
  • Ortopad
Active Comparator: Intensified treatment
42 hours per week of patching (averaging 6 hours daily)
Device: Eye Patch
42 hours patching per week (averaging 6 hours patching daily)
Other Names:
  • Coverlet
  • 3M Opticlude
  • Ortopad

Detailed Description:

Amblyopia is the most common cause of monocular visual impairment in both children and young and middle-aged adults. Both patching and atropine are accepted treatment modalities for the management of moderate amblyopia in children.1 Many practitioners prescribe 2 hours daily patching as initial therapy for amblyopia. However, many children fail to achieve normal visual acuity in the amblyopic eye with this regimen. In a randomized trial conducted by PEDIG comparing patching regimens, 71 of 92 patients with moderate amblyopia (77%) had amblyopic eye visual acuity of 20/32 or worse after 4 months of patching 2 hours daily.2 In another PEDIG randomized trial comparing patching to spectacles alone after a period of refractive adaptation, patients were treated with 2 hours daily patching and followed every 5 weeks until there was no improvement in amblyopic eye acuity. Fifty-five of 70 patients with moderate amblyopia (79%) and 14 of 14 patients with severe amblyopia (100%) had best-measured amblyopic eye visual acuity of 20/32 or worse after a median treatment period of 10 weeks.3 When improvement with initial therapy stops and amblyopia is still present, treatment options include increasing the dosage of current treatment, switching to another treatment, maintaining the same treatment and dosage for additional months, or combining treatments. Many clinicians will choose to increase the dosage of the current treatment, in part because families have become comfortable with that particular mode of treatment. However, it is unknown whether increasing occlusion dosage will improve amblyopic eye visual acuity in these patients. We are unaware of any reports of response to intensified treatment of amblyopia.

  Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:   3 Years to 7 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:   Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:   No
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Major Eligibility Criteria for Run-in Phase

  • Age 3 to < 8 years
  • Amblyopia associated with strabismus, anisometropia, or both
  • Visual acuity in the amblyopic eye between 20/50 and 20/400 inclusive
  • Visual acuity in the sound eye 20/32 or better and inter-eye acuity difference >3 logMAR lines
  • Amblyopia treatment within the past 6 months subject to the following stipulations:

    • No more than 6 weeks of any amblyopia treatment other than spectacles (except for patients being treated with 2 hours of patching per day who are entering the study on treatment)
    • No simultaneous treatment with patching and atropine
    • No use of atropine in combination with the sound eye spectacle lens reduced by more than 1.50 D
    • Maximum level of treatment within the past 6 months:

      • Patching: up to 2 hours daily
      • Atropine: up to once daily
  • Wearing spectacles with optimal correction (if applicable); if amblyopic eye acuity is 20/80 or better, then VA must be stable in glasses. If amblyopic eye acuity is 20/100 or worse, then spectacles and patching can be initiated simultaneously.

Eligibility Criteria for Randomization:

  • Amblyopic eye acuity of 20/40 to 20/160 with an inter-ocular difference of >2 lines, or amblyopic eye acuity of 20/32 with 3 lines of IOD.
  • Reasonable compliance with prescribed treatment, defined as wearing the patch at least 10 hours per week.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently using vision therapy or orthoptics
  • Ocular cause for reduced visual acuity (nystagmus per se does not exclude the patient if the above visual acuity criteria are met)
  • Prior intraocular or refractive surgery
  • Known skin reaction to patch or bandage adhesives
  Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00945100

Locations
United States, California
Southern California College of Optometry
Fullerton, California, United States, 92831
United States, North Carolina
Duke University Eye Center
Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
Sponsors and Collaborators
Jaeb Center for Health Research
Investigators
Study Chair: David K. Wallace, M.D. Duke University Eye Center
  More Information

Additional Information:
No publications provided

Responsible Party: Jaeb Center for Health Research
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00945100     History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers: NEI-143, 2U10EY011751
Study First Received: July 21, 2009
Last Updated: August 2, 2012
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by Jaeb Center for Health Research:
Amblyopia
patching
occlusion

Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Amblyopia
Brain Diseases
Central Nervous System Diseases
Nervous System Diseases
Vision Disorders
Sensation Disorders
Neurologic Manifestations
Eye Diseases
Signs and Symptoms

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 16, 2013