Purpose-To describe the amount of visual acuity degradation induced by Bangerter filters in the better-seeing eye and to evaluate its stability over time in children with moderate amblyopia.Methods-Visual acuity with and without a Bangerter filter was measured in the nonamblyopic eye of 186 children with moderate amblyopia who were then treated with either patching or with the Bangerter filters. A 0.2 filter was used for amblyopia of 20/80 and a 0.3 filter for amblyopia from 20/40 to 20/63. For the 89 children randomized to Bangerter filters, visual acuity was also measured in the nonamblyopic eye with and without the filters at both 6 weeks and 12 weeks after initiating treatment.Results-Mean degradation in visual acuity of the nonamblyopic eye at baseline was 5.1 logMAR lines with the 0.2 filter and 4.8 logMAR lines with the 0.3 filter. The degradation with each filter did not always agree with the manufacturer's specifications. Over time, the amount of degradation with the filters decreased.Conclusions-The 0.2 and 0.3 Bangerter filters degrade nonamblyopic eye visual acuity sufficiently in amblyopic children. Because the amount of degradation decreases over time, it is recommended to periodically apply a new filter when using this type of amblyopia treatment.Bangerter filters (Ryser Optik AG, St. Gallen, Switzerland) are graded translucent filters used to treat amblyopia in children 1-3 and intractable diplopia in adults. 4,5 The filters vary in density and are intended to induce progressive degradation in distance optotype visual acuity and other modalities of visual functions, including near optotype acuity, 6,7 vernier acuity, 6,7 stereopsis, 7 and contrast sensitivity. [6][7][8] The filter label indicates the decimal acuity Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. predicted by the manufacturer when the filter is placed in front of an eye with normal acuity. A 0.2 filter is predicted to degrade visual acuity to 20/100 and a 0.3 filter to 20/70. The acuity degradation in visually normal adults has been found to be inconsistent when compared with the manufacturer's specifications 6,8 ; however, evaluation of the degree of acuity degradation has not been reported in amblyopic children. Because the nonamblyopic eye is not necessarily "normal," 9,10 Bangerter filters may have a different effect on the visual acuity of the better-seeing eye in children with amblyopia. This report describes distance optotype visual acuity degradation in the nonamblyopic eye induced by 0.2 and 0.3 filters and evaluates whether degradation remains stable over time with the fil...

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We studied the prevalence and characteristics of chronic uveitis in a population of children diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). Uveitis is one of the most important, potentially debilitating extra-articular manifestations of JRA and has been observed in as many as 20% of cases. The medical records of 230 patients diagnosed with JRA and treated at a tertiary care hospital ophthalmology clinic between 1992 and 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. Seventeen patients (7.4%) were found to have clinical features of uveitis. There was a preponderance of female patients (16/17) and pauciarticular disease (13/17). Only 12 of 17 were ANA positive. Six had uveitis at diagnosis. Patients who were receiving naproxen had less incidence of uveitis compared with those receiving other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Despite a relatively low prevalence of uveitis, complications occurred in about 24% (4/17) of the patients, even with adequate treatment and close monitoring. The prevalence of uveitis in JRA seems to be decreasing and may be secondary to the increased use of naproxen. However, routine ophthalmologic screening should be continued in patients with JRA to avoid potential complications of chronic uveitis.

Patients having no capsular barrier presenting with hypopyon one day after IVTA may be observed closely for a few days for resolution of hypopyon prior to being treated as endophthalmitis.