Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Study (CITS)

Summary

Participation Requirements

Description

Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common and distinct binocular vision disorder that affects approximately 4% of school age children and adults in the United States. Convergence insufficiency is often associated with symptoms such as frequent loss of place while reading, loss of concentration, hav...

Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common and distinct binocular vision disorder that affects approximately 4% of school age children and adults in the United States. Convergence insufficiency is often associated with symptoms such as frequent loss of place while reading, loss of concentration, having to re-read, reading slowly, poor comprehension, sleepiness, blurred vision, diplopia, headaches, and/or eyestrain. A recently completed randomized clinical trial, the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), demonstrated that a 12-week program of office-based vergence/ accommodative therapy with home reinforcement was more effective than home-based near target pencil push-ups, home-based computer accommodative therapy plus pencil push-ups, or office-based placebo therapy in treating the symptoms and signs associated with symptomatic CI in children 9 to 17 years of age. While the home-based therapies in the CITT were not as effective as office-based vergence/accommodative therapy there was some improvement noted. Currently, many eye care professionals only offer home-based therapy, while others suggest passive treatment with base-in prism. At a Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) meeting (Tampa, January 2009), the results of a poll of attendees indicated that a large majority of pediatric ophthalmologists continue to recommend home-based near target push-ups as the initial treatment approach for children with symptomatic CI in spite of the CITT results. There are significant differences in contact time, complexity, and cost between office-based and home-based therapy for CI. Many clinicians believe that the less costly and less complex treatment option should be attempted first. Although home-based therapy using computer software is becoming more popular, no prospective data are available to demonstrate the effectiveness of home-based vision therapy using computer software compared to home-based near target push-ups or home-based placebo computer therapy. A prospective clinical trial is therefore needed to determine the effectiveness of home-based computer therapy for symptomatic CI compared to traditional home-based near target push-ups and placebo treatment. The current study is a multi-center randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based computer vergence/accommodative therapy and home-based near target push-ups in children 9 to <18 years of age with symptomatic CI.

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