Detection and treatment of amblyopic patients in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

This report presents retrospective data concerning 100 amblyopic patients in São Paulo, Brazil, including: the age of detection, means of detection, age in which therapy was started and follow-up of the patients. Even though most of the cases (65%) had been detected before the age of 7 years, 10.8% of them started the therapy only after 8 years of age, when the treatment of amblyopia may not be so successful. Among the patients who started their therapy before the age of 7 years, 44.8% of them returned only irregularly or didn't return at all. The amblyopia was detected, in the majority of cases, by the parents or the ophthalmologist, and rarely by the pediatrician or at school. The authors discuss such observations, and propose some ways ot improve the therapeutic results in amblyopia.