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Adjunctive effect of acupuncture to refractive correction on anisometropic amblyopia: one-year results of a
Dennis S C Lam1, Jianhao Zhao, Li Jia Chen
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. dennislam_pub@cuhk.edu.hk
Insights
Acupuncture combined with spectacles significantly improved vision in children with anisometropic amblyopia. This safe, complementary treatment offers a sustainable adjunctive effect for young patients.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Integrative Medicine
- Pediatric Vision
Background:
- Anisometropic amblyopia is a common cause of reduced vision in children.
- Current treatments primarily involve refractive correction, which can have limitations.
- Investigating adjunctive therapies is crucial for improving visual outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the safety and efficacy of acupuncture as an add-on therapy to refractive correction for anisometropic amblyopia in young children.
- To evaluate the visual acuity changes and treatment outcomes with and without acupuncture.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, randomized, controlled, crossover trial was conducted.
- 83 children (3-7 years) with anisometropic amblyopia received spectacles alone or spectacles plus acupuncture for 15 weeks, then crossed over.
- Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was measured at baseline and various follow-up points.
Main Results:
- Acupuncture combined with spectacles led to a significantly greater improvement in BCVA compared to spectacles alone.
- A higher percentage of children achieved excellent visual acuity (≤0.1 logMAR) with the acupuncture group.
- Acupuncture was well-tolerated, with no severe adverse effects reported.
Conclusions:
- Acupuncture serves as a safe and potentially effective complementary treatment for anisometropic amblyopia in children.
- The adjunctive use of acupuncture may offer sustainable visual benefits.
- Further large-scale studies are recommended to confirm these findings.
Objectives:
To evaluate the safety and adjunctive effect of acupuncture added to refractive correction for anisometropic amblyopia in younger children.
Design:
Prospective, randomized, controlled, crossover trial.
Participants:
We included 83 children aged 3 to <7 years with untreated anisometropic amblyopia and baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/40 to 20/200 in the amblyopic eye.
Methods:
Participants were randomized to receive spectacles alone (group 1; n = 42) or spectacles + acupuncture (group 2; n = 41) for 15 weeks, and were then crossed over to receive the other regimen for another 15 weeks. The BCVA in both eyes was measured at baseline and every 5 (±1) weeks for the initial 45 weeks and at 60 (±1) weeks.
Main Outcome Measures:
BCVA in the amblyopic eye at 15, 30, and 60 weeks.
Results:
The mean baseline BCVA in the amblyopic eye was 0.50 and 0.49 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) in groups 1 and 2, respectively. After 15 weeks of treatment, the BCVA had improved by a mean of 2.2 lines in group 1 and 2.9 lines in group 2. The mean difference in BCVA between groups was 0.77 lines (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.29-1.3; P = 0.0020) with baseline adjustment. BCVA of ≤0.1 logMAR was achieved in 14.6% of the patients in group 1 and 57.5% in group 2 (P<0.00010). After the regimens were crossed over at 30 weeks, group 1 had a mean of 1.2 (95% CI, 0.98-1.48; P = 2.0 × 10⁻¹²) lines additional improvement from the 15-week BCVA, whereas in group 2 the mean improvement was 0.4 (95% CI, 0.19-0.63; P = 0.0010) lines. The proportions of responders, resolution, and participants achieving a BCVA of ≤0.1 logMAR at 30 weeks were similar between groups. After completion of acupuncture, only 1 participant had >1 line of VA decrease to 60 weeks. Acupuncture was well-tolerated by all children, and no severe adverse effect was encountered.
Conclusions:
Acupuncture is a potentially useful complementary treatment modality that may provide sustainable adjunctive effect to refractive correction for anisometropic amblyopia in young children. Further large-scale studies seem warranted.
Financial Disclosure(S):
Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
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