Clinical profile of amblyopia in Pakistani children age 3 to 14 years.

Objective: To study the clinical profile of amblyopia in children age 3 to 14 years.
Design: A cohort study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted over a period of two years from June 2001 to June 2003 at Khyber Institute of Ophthalmic Medical Sciences, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Patients and Methods: This study included 316 children. Visual acuity was tested with Snellen type and Lea symbols chart according to the level of cooperation of the children. Cycloplegic refraction and orthoptic assessment was performed on all children.
Results: One hundred and eighty-two children were between 3 to 8 years age and 134 were between 8 to 14 years. Mean age was 8 years. One hundred and twenty children had strabismic amblyopia, 136 children had anisometropic amblyopia, while 60 children had combined mechanism amblyopia (strabismus and anisometropia both).
Conclusion: The results indicate the importance of screening school-going children for refractive error and amblyopia and the importance of a future prospective study on the magnitude, cause and treatment of amblyopia at more treatable age.