The role of anisometropia in the development of accommodative esotropia

To determine if anisometropia increases the risk for the development of accommodative esotropia in hypermetropia.

Records of all new patients with a refractive error of > or = +2.00 (mean spherical equivalent [SE] of both eyes) over a 42-month period were reviewed. Three hundred forty-five (345) patients were thus analyzed to determine the effect of anisometropia (> or = 1 diopter [D]) on the relative risk of developing esodeviation and of requiring surgical correction once esodeviation was present (uncontrolled deviation).

Anisometropia (> or = 1 D) increased the relative risk of developing accommodative esodeviation to 1.68 (P < .05). Anisometropia (> or = 1 D) increased the relative risk for esodeviation to 7.8 (P < .05) in patients with a mean SE of < 3 D and to 1.49 (P < .05) in patients with SE of > or = 3 D. This difference was significant (P = .016). In patients with esotropia and anisometropia (> or = 1 D), the relative risk for an uncontrolled deviation was 1.72 (P < .05) compared with nonanisometropic esotropic patients. Uncontrolled esodeviation was present in 33% of anisometropic patients versus 0% of nonanisometropic patients with a mean hypermetropic SE of < 3 D (P = .003); however, anisometropia did not increase the relative risk of uncontrolled esotropia in patients with SE of > or = 3 D. Although amblyopia and anisometropia were closely associated, anisometropia increased the relative risk of esodeviation to 2.14 (P < .05) even in the absence of amblyopia.

Anisometropia (> 1 D) is a significant risk factor for the development of accommodative esodeviation, especially in patients with lower overall hypermetropia (< 3 D). Anisometropia also increases the risk that an accommodative esodeviation will not be fully eliminated with hypermetropic correction.