Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:To compare the rate of refractive growth (RRG3) of the crystalline lens ("lens") versus the eye excluding the lens ("globe") for the fellow, noncataractous eyes of participants in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study. DESIGN/UNASSIGNED:Retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS/UNASSIGNED:A total of 114 children who had unilateral cataract surgery as infants were recruited. Biometric and refraction data were obtained from the normal eyes at surgery and at 1, 5, and 10 years. Subjects were included if complete data (axial length [AL], corneal power, and refraction) were available at surgery and at 10 years of age. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:test, and linear regression was used to look for a correlation between RRG3 of the lens globe. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/UNASSIGNED:The RRG3 of the lens and globe. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED: CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:The RRG3 was 2 D more negative in globes compared with lenses in normal eyes. Globes with a greater rate of growth tended to have lenses with a greater rate of growth.

We studied the myopic shift and anisometropia at 10.6 (+/−0.3) years of age in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study. We found myopic shift continues in the operated eye from 5-10.5 years at a lower rate than that prior to age five years while anisometropia increases proportionally.

PURPOSE:To characterize long-term strabismus outcomes in children in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS). METHODS:This study was a secondary data analysis of long-term ocular alignment characteristics of children aged 10.5 years who had previously been enrolled in a randomized clinical trial evaluating aphakic management after unilateral cataract surgery between 1 and 6 months of age. RESULTS:(P = 0.0003). CONCLUSIONS:Strabismus-in particular, exotropia-is common irrespective of aphakia management 10 years following infant monocular cataract surgery. The delayed emergence of exotropia with longer follow-up indicates a need for caution in managing early esotropia in these children. Children with better visual acuity at 10 years of age are more likely to have better ocular alignment.

IMPORTANCE:Although intraocular lenses (IOLs) are often implanted in children, little is known whether primary IOL implantation or aphakia and contact lens correction results in better long-term visual outcomes after unilateral cataract surgery during infancy. OBJECTIVE:To compare long-term visual outcomes with contact lens vs IOL correction following unilateral cataract surgery during infancy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:This multicenter randomized clinical trial enrolled 114 infants with a unilateral congenital cataract who underwent cataract surgery with or without primary IOL implantation between 1 and 6 months of age. Data on long-term visual outcomes were collected when the children were age 10.5 years (July 14, 2015, to July 12, 2019) and analyzed from March 30 through August 6, 2019. INTERVENTIONS:Intraocular lens implantation at the time of cataract surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES:Best-corrected visual acuity using the electronic Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (E-ETDRS) testing protocol. Analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis. RESULTS:Best-corrected visual acuity was measured at age 10.5 years for 110 of the 114 patients (96%) enrolled as infants. The participants included 58 girls (53%) and 52 boys (47%). Overall, 27 of the children (25%) had good (logMAR 0.30 [Snellen equivalent, 20/40] or better) visual acuity in the treated eye (12 [22%] in the IOL group and 15 [27%] in the aphakia group), but 50 children (44%) had a visual acuity of logMAR 1.00 (Snellen equivalent, 20/200) or worse (25 [44%] in the IOL group and 25 [44%] in the aphakia group). The median logMAR acuity in the treated eye was similar in children randomized to receive an IOL at the time of cataract extraction (0.89; interquartile range [IQR], 0.33-1.43 [Snellen equivalent, 20/159]) and those who remained aphakic (0.86; IQR, 0.30-1.46 [Snellen equivalent, 20/145]) (IQR, 0.30-1.46; P = .82). Although the overall difference in median visual acuity between the 2 groups was small, the estimate was imprecise (99% CI for the difference in medians was -0.54 to 0.47). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:As in previous phases of the study, visual acuity outcomes were highly variable with only 27 children (25%) achieving excellent visual acuity in their treated eye and 50 children (44%) having poor vision in the treated eye. Implanting an IOL at the time of cataract extraction was neither beneficial nor detrimental to the visual outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00212134.

PURPOSE:To report strabismus surgery frequency and outcomes after monocular infantile cataract surgery with or without IOL implantation. METHODS:The Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS) is a randomized, multicenter clinical trial comparing treatment of aphakia with a primary IOL or contact lens in 114 infants with a unilateral congenital cataract. This report is a secondary outcome analysis of ocular motor data from IATS patients who underwent strabismus surgery prior to age 5 years. RESULTS:of orthotropia at age 5 years. The 5-year visual acuity of children with strabismus was the same whether or not strabismus surgery had been performed (1.10 logMAR with surgery vs 1.00 without [P = 0.71]). CONCLUSIONS:In this study cohort, cataract surgery performed in the first 6 weeks of life was associated with a reduced frequency of strabismus surgery. Strabismus surgery outcomes in this population are guarded. Surgical improvement of strabismus does not appear to influence long-term visual acuity.

PurposeFive-year prospective data on children enrolled in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS) provided an opportunity to explore ocular and systemic associations in patients with a unilateral congenital cataract.MethodsInfants <7 months of age with a unilateral cataract were eligible for IATS screening. We reviewed data pertaining to the exclusion of patients as well as data collected on standardized study forms used at any time for documentation of ocular or systemic disorders.ResultsOverall, 227 infants were referred for possible enrollment. Of these, 10 had insignificant cataracts and 32 refused to participate. Of those excluded, 3 were premature, 27 had significant ocular disease (usually persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) or corneal diameter <9 mm), and 4 had systemic disorders. An additional 26 were excluded at the time of the first EUA, most often because of PFV or variants thereof. On follow-up, in the 114 enrolled patients, the following disorders were diagnosed: Stickler syndrome (1), mitochondrial disease (1), autism (1), and presumed congenital rubella syndrome (1). No patient developed a cataract in the fellow eye.DiscussionSome conditions that can feature unilateral cataracts are diagnosed at birth or very early in life, but others may be diagnosed at varying periods thereafter. PFV and its variants are the most common associated ocular findings in about a quarter of cases of unilateral congenital cataracts.ConclusionAlthough patients with a unilateral cataract may have significant associated abnormalities in the affected eye, most commonly PFV and its variants, the prevalence of associated significant systemic disease is quite low.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate sensorimotor outcomes among children in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS). METHODS:Secondary outcome analysis was performed in this randomized, multicenter, clinical trial comparing treatment of unilateral aphakia with a primary intraocular lens (IOL) or contact lens (CL) correction. The alignment characteristics and sensory status of children through age 5 years were evaluated. RESULTS:In the IATS study, 91 of 112 children (81%) developed strabismus through age 5 years. Of 34 infants who were orthotropic at near 12 months after cataract surgery, at age 5 years 14 (41%) were orthotropic at distance, and 15 (44%) were orthotropic at near at age 5 years without strabismus surgery. Eight of 56 children (14%) in the CL group and 13 of 56 (23%) in the IOL group were orthotropic at distance (P = 0.33) at 5 years of age and had no history of strabismus surgery. Thirteen of 48 (27%) who underwent cataract surgery prior to 49 days of age compared to 8 of 64 (13%) who had surgery after 49 days were orthotropic (P = 0.085). Median visual acuity in the operative eye was 0.4 logMAR (20/50) for children with orthotropia or microtropia (<10(Δ)) versus 1.10 logMAR (20/252) for strabismus ≥10(Δ) (P = 0.0001). Stereopsis was detected in 12 of 21 children (57%) with orthotropia versus 16 of 89 (18%) children with strabismus (P = 0.0006). CONCLUSIONS:IOL placement does not reduce the development of strabismus after monocular congenital cataract surgery. Improved ocular alignment by age 5 years correlated strongly with improved visual acuity and stereopsis.