Clinical Aspect of Acute Comitant Esotropia

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical aspect of acute comitant esotropia and the prognosis for the return of binocular function. METHODS: A clinical study was carried out for all patients who had been diagnosed as acute comitant esotropia with diplopia from July 1987 to April 1994. Each patient underwent a full opthalmological examination including history, family history, refractive error, prism cover test and sensory evaluation. RESULTS: Sixteen patients met the inclusion criteria. Ages of these patients ranged from 5 to 46 years. Three patients with history of occlusion were Swan type (type I), 5 patients without history of occlusion were Franceschetti type (type II) and 8 patients with myopia were Bielschowsky type (type III). Fifteen patients were treated with strabismus surgery and 12 patients restored binocular function. CONCLUSIONS: Acute comitant esotropia developed mostly over 5 year-old age and can be classified as three types. If the patient has no apparent cause for acute comitant esotropia, the underlying neurologic disorder should be considered. When orthophoria is achieved by strabismus surgery, the prognosis of binocular function is expected to be good.