Investigating amblyopia (summary)

This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists

Amblyopia, often referred to as a "lazy eye", is a vision development disorder where an eye fails to achieve normal visual acuity, despite the use of prescription spectacles or contact lenses.

Reference article

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Summary

• epidemiology

  • affects 2-3% of the population^1,2

  • most commonly diagnosed in early childhood

  • affects males and females equally

• pathophysiology

  • mechanism: results from abnormal visual experience early in life that alters the neural pathways between the eye and the brain

  • types

    • strabismic amblyopia: due to misaligned eyes

    • anisometropic amblyopia: due to different refractive errors in each eye

    • deprivation amblyopia: due to a condition that obstructs light from entering and being focused in a young child's eye

• questions

  • When did the patient first notice issues with your child’s vision?

  • Is there a history of amblyopia or other eye conditions in the family?

  • Does the patient squint, tilt its head, or favour one eye?

  • Any history of premature birth or developmental delays?

• investigation

  • CT and MRI scans are useful in detecting structural abnormalities in the brain or eye, such as tumours, cataracts, or other anomalies that might impede normal visual development, however, amblyopia itself is largely diagnosed through clinical vision assessments and patient history, as it is fundamentally a functional disorder of the visual system rather than one identifiable by structural anomalies on imaging

• common pathology

  • strabismus

  • anisometropia

• treatment

  • prescription glasses or contact lenses to correct refractive errors

  • patching or blurring the stronger eye

  • atropine drops

  • surgery in cases related to cataracts or strabismus