Intense versus standard regimens of intermittent occlusion therapy for unilateral moderate amblyopia in children: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: We reported that in our previous study that wearing intermittent occlusion therapy glasses (IO-therapy) for 4 hours (h) was non-inferior to patching for 2 h in 3 to 8-year-old children with amblyopia. We hypothesize that an intense regimen of 12-h IO-therapy per day for 4 weeks could be as effective as the standard regimen of 4-h IO-therapy per day for 12 weeks in treating moderate amblyopia in 3 to 8-year-old children.

Methods/design: A total of 56 children between 3 and 8 years of age with amblyopia in association with anisometropia and/or strabismus will be enrolled.