Diagnosis and management of accommodative esotropia

Accommodative esotropia is the most common form of childhood strabismus presenting to optometric practice. Functional and cosmetic outcomes are often excellent but depend on accurate diagnosis, urgent and correct initial management and careful follow-up.

We present several cases that highlight important aspects of the clinical care of accommodative esotropia. The first patient was mismanaged by undercorrection of hypermetropia, but was later accurately diagnosed to have accommodative esotropia and was subsequently managed successfully with full hypermetropic correction alone. The second patient had an accommodative esotropia with amblyopia. The third patient used a near addition to correct a residual near esotropia.

The published evidence and these cases make several points regarding assessment, diagnosis and management of esotropia. Assessment must aim to reach a diagnosis based on aetiology, as the aetiology of esotropia has a significant impact on management decisions and prognosis.