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From the Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Sixty-eight children (age range, 864 months) with acquired esotropia were enrolled in a prospective study. Botulinum toxin A was injected in the two medial recti. Motor and sensory statuses were evaluated at 1 and 2 weeks; 3, 6, and 12 months; and every year after the last injection. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to relate motor and sensory outcome to variables recorded as potential predictors.
RESULTS. After an average follow-up of 4.8 years since the last injection, motor success was obtained in 36 children with one injection (52.9%), increasing to 48 (70.6%) and 60 (88.2%) children after two and three injections, respectively. Forty-eight (70.6%) patients had at least peripheral fusion (category 1 binocularity) and 32 (47.1%) had stereoacuity of at least 400 seconds of arc (category 2 binocularity). Higher hypermetropia, less severe amblyopia, and a smaller angle of esotropia were the best predictors of motor success. Minimal amblyopia and favorable motor alignment were associated with better binocularity outcome.
CONCLUSIONS. Botulinum is an effective long-term treatment of acquired esotropia. It is especially useful in children with high hypermetropia, minimal amblyopia, and small esotropic deviation.
| Introduction |
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| Methods |
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Of the 163 esotropic patients examined, 68 were eligible (40 boys, 28 girls). Children were excluded by selection criteria (78 children) or parental rejection of therapy (17 children). Patients entered the study between the ages of 8 and 64 months. Characteristics of the study group are listed in Table 1 .
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All described measures were mainly directed to avoid additional therapy in purely accommodative esotropia that may have been managed with spectacles alone. Whenever the residual deviation could not be reduced to less than 8 prism diopter at distance, we discussed with the childrens parents the possibility of botulinum injection and surgical correction and indicated botulinum treatment when the parents gave consent. We measured the preinjection deviation with correction by the alternate prism-and-cover test in 47 children, or by the Krimsky test when it could not be used (i.e., in 21 children). Visual acuity was determined by the Cardiff acuity test administered between 16 and 27 to 40 months of age and by the Allen cards or E test when children were able to cooperate (this occurred at ages between 27 and 40 months). The depth of amblyopia was measured as the difference in visual acuity between the two eyes (log minimum angle of resolution [logMAR] lines). In younger children, we also checked the severity of amblyopia by fixation preference at near, having the patient fixate on a small accommodative target, but data obtained with the Cardiff acuity test were incorporated into the statistical analysis. Amblyopia therapy was performed before botulinum injection, generally for 3 to 6 months (i.e., the period when it is maximally effective and after which further therapy probably will not be successful),9 10 to avoid excessive delay of corrective treatment for esotropia. Thirty-six patients were amblyopes and received occlusive therapy (average duration, 130 days; range, 80185 days). In 14 (38.8%) of them, the amblyopia was not completely responsive to treatment, and therefore they had some degree of amblyopia when injected with the toxin.
Successful motor outcome was defined as a distance deviation of no more than 8 prism diopters by the simultaneous prism-and-cover test. The moment of alignment was considered when the patient reached a deviation within the successful range maintained for at least 6 months.
The sensory fusion was evaluated by Bagolini lenses and the Worth 4-dot
test and the stereo perception by the random-dot, with a random-dot
ground (Randot Stereotests; Stereo Optical, Inc., Chicago, IL), Titmus,
and TNO stereo tests. We distinguished two categories of binocularity.
In category 1, children had peripheral fusion and gross or absent
stereopsis. They were able to fuse at least on the Worth 4-dot test at
near and did not show peripheral suppression on the Bagolini lenses,
but stereopsis was not detected by the random-dot test (some of them
had gross stereoacuity of >400 seconds of arc, as measured by
the Titmus). In category 2, they had at least detectable
stereopsis by the random-dot test (
400 seconds of arc) and both
peripheral and central fusion or a small central suppression scotoma on
the Bagolini lenses.
We injected botulinum toxin A (Botox; Allergan, Dublin, Ireland), with the children under brief nitrous oxide inhalation in the operating room, inserting the needle through the conjunctiva (without previous incision), and advanced with electromyographic control until the area of loudest sound, when we injected the fluid slowly. We used the maximal doses recommended by Scott et al.,6 depending on the amount of deviation (Table 2) . The dosage was always divided between the two medial recti, which were simultaneously injected. Children were observed for an average of 4.8 years after the last injection (range, 3.46.3 years), with evaluations at 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and every year after the last injection. The decision to administer subsequent injections usually was made 6 months after the preceding injection (average time, 170 days; range, 121192 days) or at the following visits when the desired alignment was not reached or maintained (i.e., <8 prism diopters of esotropia at distance). It is important to note that refraction was performed after botulinum treatment during the 3-month follow-up visit. We dispensed the full hyperopic or minimal myopic correction (with subjective refinement at distance when possible). Residual esotropia was treated by repeating botulinum injection.
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The statistical analysis included investigation of association between variables of interest, mainly between the outcome variables at the end of follow-up and the potential predictors (univariate and multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis using SPSS; SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL).
| Results |
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Analysis of Predictor Variables
We studied the effect of different variables (Table 1)
with
suspected clinical influence on the motor outcome. In the analysis, sex
was treated as a categorical variable, whereas all other explanatory
variables were treated as continuous variables. The motor outcome was
significantly associated (P < 0.05) in univariate
analysis with the depth of amblyopia and the angle of deviation, and
was marginally associated (P < 0.25) with other
variables (Table 1)
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For multivariate stepwise analysis we included initially variables with a significance of P < 0.25 obtained in univariate analysis. In this model, depth of amblyopia and refraction remained, in combination, the two most valuable predictors of motor outcome (model 1 in Table 3 ) after elimination of the other variables. Patients with a lower level of amblyopia and greater hypermetropia were associated with a satisfactory stable motor alignment. If we included in the multivariate model only variables with strict statistical significance in the univariate analysis (P < 0.05 in Table 1 ), a lower level of amblyopia and smaller angle of esotropia were the best predictors of motor success (model 2, Table 3 ). The goodness of fit and predictability with the two models were good, but higher with the first model, and statistical power computation at a significance level of 0.05 yielded 96% and 67%, respectively. The calculated adjusted odds ratios of predictor variables were close to 1.00, although highly significant, because they provided a comparison of, for example, two children 1 logMAR line apart in depth of amblyopia (because these were the units used to measure the variable, such as 1 D or 1 prism diopter, for the other predictors). A more meaningful comparison would be obtained from model 1, comparing two children with 3 logMAR lines of difference in depth of amblyopia, which induces a 32% decrease in odds of motor success in the child with deeper amblyopia, after controlling for refraction.11
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| Discussion |
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Undesirable effects were transient and nondeleterious or infrequent: temporary ptosis in 24 (35.2%) children, which resolved spontaneously; only one (1.4%) case of overcorrected exotropia; and one (1.4%) case of significant postinjection hypertropia. Amblyopia did not develop as a consequence of these complications.
The results reported herein are compatible with some preceding articles on botulinum toxin in childhood esotropia.6 12 13 The long-term motor outcome after multiple injections is moderately improved compared with one of the studies,6 in which different categories of esotropia are included, and is about the same as in the other two, of which one also included different esotropic categories12 and the other referred to infantile esotropia.13 The motor success rates in these three studies are 66%, 85%, and 89%, respectively.
Comparison between Botulinum and Surgical Treatment
These results give a hint of the possible results of a comparison
of botulinum toxin with surgical treatment of acquired esotropia.
Conclusions are not definitive because a comparison group treated with
surgery is not included. Standard surgery is successful in 50% to 74%
of cases, but these figures improve to 88% and 90%, respectively,
after augmented surgery and prism adaptation.1
2
3
Fusion
results after one surgical procedure are approximately equivalent to
those obtained after one to three botulinum injections: 60% to 75% of
children have peripheral fusion with surgery2
3
compared
with 70% achieved after chemodenervation. Therefore, it seems that,
from the motor and sensory point of view, a single operation may be as
effective as one to three botulinum doses. Surgery is invasive,
promotes scarring, and requires longer and deeper anesthesia. Botulinum
is less invasive but more repetitive, does not produce scars, and
demands brief superficial anesthesia, but it is not without risk for
children.
Prognostic Factors
Depth of amblyopia is a negative predictor of success with
botulinum toxin, whereas this issue is controversial in recent
conventional surgery literature.3
14
15
16
17
18
Significant hypermetropia is a positive prognostic factor of satisfactory alignment with botulinum, and it has also been related to motor success after surgery for acquired esotropia.3 16 In this study, changes in refractive prescription after botulinum injection were based on retinoscopic findings and subjective refinement, and we avoided overplussing with visual blurring to correct residual esotropia. Therefore, it is unlikely that such modifications are related to better results in high hypermetropes. It has been suggested that esotropes with an accommodative mechanism could have better binocularity.3 Children with moderate to high myopia would not be as good candidates for this therapy as hypermetropes.
A greater pretreatment angle is prognostic of failure, as is particularly evident in Table 3 . This applies also to conventional surgery.3 16 The necessity of a higher total dose of the toxin is associated with worse motor results. Abbasoglu et al.19 demonstrated that the percentage reduction of initial deviation was similar with each repeat botulinum application and that there was no cumulative effect.
Binocularity in infantile esotropia after treatment with botulinum toxin has been suspected to be of poor quality, or at least of worse quality than in children who undergo surgery.20 Our data indicate, to a certain extent, that this effect, attributed to delay in correcting misalignment, would not occur in acquired esotropia. A stronger potential to regain bifoveal fixation and a more ready resolution of misalignment (due to smaller deviations) in acquired esotropia could account for this difference.
In this investigation, depth of amblyopia before treatment was a negative predictor of binocularity in the long term. Previous studies have pointed out the independence between amblyopia and binocularity,21 22 23 24 but it is also reported that amblyopia therapy may improve stereoacuity.25
In conclusion, the present study indicates that botulinum treatment of acquired esotropia provides satisfactory long-term motor and sensory results. The most likely candidates for this therapy are children with minimal amblyopia, high hypermetropia, and a small angle of esotropia.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication April 23, 2001; accepted June 7, 2001.
Commercial relationships policy: N.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page
charge payment. This article must therefore be marked
"advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734
solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Jaime Tejedor, Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, C. Colmenar km 9.100, Madrid 28034, Spain. jtejedor{at}hrc.insalud.es
| References |
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This article has been cited by other articles:
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J. Tejedor and J. M. Rodriguez Management of Nonresolving Consecutive Exotropia Following Botulinum Toxin Treatment of Childhood Esotropia Arch Ophthalmol, September 1, 2007; 125(9): 1210 - 1213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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