In this paper published in Ophthalmology, Rajesh et al. evaluated sociodemographic and clinical factors and their association with the management and outcomes of strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) in children. Treatment for strabismus can be very successful if detected early. Previous studies have found that due to delayed diagnosis and/or unsuccessful treatment, certain groups of children with strabismus may be at higher risk for amblyopia, or vision loss when the normal connection between the eye and brain does not develop normally.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research In Sight) database is a comprehensive collection of clinical eye data collected from more than 78 million patients and more than 15,000 unique healthcare providers across the United States. Due to its size and comprehensiveness, the IRIS Registry offers a unique opportunity to investigate strabismus outcomes. The authors looked at records from more than 160,000 patients in the IRIS Registry to determine their age at diagnosis, whether or not they had resulting amblyopia, and whether or not they underwent surgery to correct their strabismus.