Accommodation is more accurate and less variable when children are engaged in the task. Children also have more variable accommodation than adults. In addition, children with greater hyperopia have more variable accommodation during sustained near tasks.

he Intermittent Exotropia Questionnaire (IXTQ) is a patientderived, intermittent exotropia-specific instrument designed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with intermittent exotropia and their parents. 1,2 The IXTQ consists of 3 parts: the 12-item child IXTQ (completed by the child to assess the child's HRQOL), the 12-item proxy IXTQ (completed by the parent to assess the child's HRQOL), and the 17-item parent IXTQ (completed by the parent regarding his or her own HRQOL). 1 The child and proxy questionnaires each have a single subscale. The parent questionnaire contains 3 subscales: psychosocial, function, and surgery. The IXTQ is reliable and valid for assessing HRQOL in children with intermittent exotropia. [1][2][3] It is available for download free of charge at http://pedig.jaeb.org/.The IXTQ was originally developed using classical test theory. Rasch analysis may be used to modify and improve existing HRQOL instruments. [4][5][6][7][8][9] In the present study, Rasch analysis was used to refine the existing IXTQ, removing items that do not contribute meaningful information to the instrument and ensuring that response options are properly interpreted. Methods Patient CohortParents gave written informed consent, and children gave written assent when required. The protocol was approved by the institutional review boards of the Mayo Clinic, Jaeb Center for Health Research, and other local sites involved in the study. Data were collected and analyzed in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines. The IXTQ was completed by 575 parents of 575 children aged 1 through 16 years with intermittent exotropia at the time of their child's clinic examination, enrolled from May 15, 2008, through July 24, 2013. The 295 children aged 5 years or older completed the age-appropriate child IXTQ. Parents and children completed the IXTQ as part of routine care in the strabismus practice of one of the authors (J.M.H., n = 110) or at the enrollment examination for 1 of 2 ongoing randomized clinical trials being conducted by the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (NCT 01032603 [n = 69] and NCT 01032330 [n = 396]). Child questionnaires were administered to children aged 5 through 7 years by study personnel. All 8-to 17-year-old child, proxy, and parent questionnaires were self-administered. Patient demographics are reported in eTable 1 in the Supplement. Statistical AnalysisBefore Rasch analysis, items with floor and ceiling effects on the child, proxy, and parent IXTQs were eliminated as described in the eMethods in the Supplement. Rasch analysis was performed on each of the 4 IXTQs using the analytic methods that we have applied previously (eMethods in the Supplement). 9 The performance and structure of the Rasch-IMPORTANCE The Intermittent Exotropia Questionnaire (IXTQ) is a patient, proxy, and parental report of quality of life specific to children with intermittent exotropia. We refine the IXTQ using Rasch analysis to improve reliability and validity.OBSERVATI...

Objective: Two strategies were compared for managing moderate hyperopia without manifest strabismus among 1-and 2-year-old children: 1) immediate prescription of glasses vs 2) observation without glasses unless reduced distance visual acuity (VA), reduced stereoacuity, or manifest strabismus. Design: Prospective randomized clinical trialParticipants: 130 children 1 to 2 years old with hyperopia between +3.00 diopters (D) and +6.00D spherical equivalent (SE) in at least one eye, anisometropia ≤1.50D SE and astigmatism ≤1.50D based on cycloplegic refraction, and no manifest strabismus. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to glasses (1.00D less than full cycloplegic hyperopia) versus observation and followed every 6 months for 3 years. Glasses were prescribed to * A full list of participating study group members appears in the Acknowledgments e-Supplement.

Purpose To determine the effectiveness of office‐based vergence/accommodative therapy for improving accommodative amplitude and accommodative facility in children with symptomatic convergence insufficiency and accommodative dysfunction. Methods We report changes in accommodative function following therapy among participants in the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial – Attention and Reading Trial with decreased accommodative amplitude (115 participants in vergence/accommodative therapy; 65 in placebo therapy) or decreased accommodative facility (71 participants in vergence/accommodative therapy; 37 in placebo therapy) at baseline. The primary analysis compared mean change in amplitude and facility between the vergence/accommodative and placebo therapy groups using analyses of variance models after 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of treatment. The proportions of participants with normal amplitude and facility at each time point were calculated. The average rate of change in amplitude and facility from baseline to week 4, and from weeks 4 to 16, were determined in the vergence/accommodative therapy group. Results From baseline to 16 weeks, the mean improvement in amplitude was 8.6 dioptres (D) and 5.2 D in the vergence/accommodative and placebo therapy groups, respectively (mean difference = 3.5 D, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5 to 5.5 D; p = 0.01). The mean improvement in facility was 13.5 cycles per minute (cpm) and 7.6 cpm in the vergence/accommodative and placebo therapy groups, respectively (mean difference = 5.8 cpm, 95% CI: 3.8 to 7.9 cpm; p < 0.0001). Significantly greater proportions of participants treated with vergence/accommodative therapy achieved a normal amplitude (69% vs. 32%, difference = 37%, 95% CI: 22 to 51%; p < 0.0001) and facility (85% vs. 49%, difference = 36%, 95% CI: 18 to 55%; p < 0.0001) than those who received placebo therapy. In the vergence/accommodative therapy group, amplitude increased at an average rate of 1.5 D per week during the first 4 weeks (p < 0.0001), then slowed to 0.2 D per week (p = 0.002) from weeks 4 to 16. Similarly, facility increased at an average rate of 1.5 cpm per week during the first 4 weeks (p < 0.0001), then slowed to 0.6 cpm per week from weeks 4 to 16 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Office‐based vergence/accommodative therapy is effective for improving accommodative function in children with symptomatic convergence insufficiency and coexisting accommodative dysfunction.