Binocular treatment for individual with amblyopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To assess the efficacy of binocular treatment for individual with amblyopia. Methods: In this meta-analysis, a comprehensive search of literatures was performed from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases up to December 21, 2020. Sensitivity analysis was performed for all outcomes. The Begg's test was used to assess the publication bias. Heterogeneity test was conducted for each effect indicator. Indicators were analyzed by random-effects model when the heterogeneity statistic I2 >= 50%, on the contrary, indicators were analyzed by fixed-effect model. Standard mean difference (SMD) or weighted mean difference (WMD) was adopted as effect indicators, and the effect amount was expressed as 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 13 literatures including 1146 participants were finally enrolled, with 595 in the intervention group and 551 in the control group. The results indicated that the improvement of amblyopic eye visual acuity [SMD: 0.882, 95%CI: (0.152, 1.613), P = 0.018] in binocular treatment group was better than that in control group. And binocular treatment could improve stereo acuity in individual with amblyopia [WMD: 0.138, 95%CI: (0.068, 0.208), P < 0.001]. Conclusion: Binocular treatment may be beneficial to visual acuity, stereo acuity and binocular function improvement for individual with amblyopia. In clinical practice, binocular treatment can be used as one of the treatments for individual with amblyopia.