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Objective-To compare contact lenses and intraocular lenses (IOLs) for the optical correction of unilateral aphakia during infancy.Methods-In a randomized, multicenter (12 sites) clinical trial, 114 infants with a unilateral congenital cataract were assigned to undergo cataract surgery either with or without IOL implantation. Children randomized to IOL treatment had their residual refractive error corrected with spectacles. Children randomized to no IOL had their aphakia treated with a contact lens Main Outcome Measures-Grating acuity at 12 months of age and HOTV visual acuity at 4.5 years of age Results-Enrollment began in December 2004 and was completed in January 2009. The median age at the time of cataract surgery was 1.8 months. Fifty patients were 4-6 weeks of age at the time of enrollment, 32 patients were between 49 days and 3 months of age and the remaining 32 children were 3 to 7 months of age. Fifty-seven children were randomized to each treatment group with either IOL placement or aphakia. The eyes with cataracts had shorter axial lengths and steeper corneas on average than the fellow eyes.Conclusions-The optimal optical treatment of aphakia in infants is unknown. IATS was designed to provide empirical evidence whether optical treatment with an IOL or a contact lens following unilateral cataract surgery during infancy is associated with a better visual outcome.

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Objective To determine the validity and reliability of a novel questionnaire to measure vision related quality of life (VRQOL) in children 8–18 years old for use in juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (JIA-U) –Effects of Youngsters’ Eyesight on Quality of Life (EYE-Q). Methods Several steps validated the EYE-Q. We interviewed experts and children on how vision affects a child’s activities. We developed new items and selected relevant items from existing instruments. We administered initial versions of the EYE-Q to normal-sighted children and those with JIA-U. For this study, children with various (or no) ocular conditions were recruited from a clinical population. Visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity were performed, and the EYE-Q and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) were administered. The EYE-Q was repeated 10 days later. Patients, parents and physicians rated vision severity. Results Of 120 patients, 48% were female, 46.7% had no visual impairment (VI), and 52% had bilateral eye involvement. Mean age was 11.3 years. There were significant differences in the measures based on VA (p<0.001). Children with more severe VA and bilateral eye involvement had worse EYE-Q scores (p<0.001). There were significant associations between the EYE-Q and PedsQL (r = 0.375), repeat EYE-Q (r = 0.864), and clinical measures of ocular disease (r = −0.620). Conclusions Our study provides evidence of the validity and reliability of the EYE-Q in the measurement of VRQOL. The EYE-Q may complement clinical measures of VI and overall QOL and become an important tool in the assessment of QOL in JIA-U.

Purpose To determine whether stereopsis of infants treated for monocular cataracts varies with the type of optical correction used. Design Randomized prospective clinical trial Methods The Infant Aphakia Treatment Study randomized 114 patients with unilateral cataracts at age 1 to 7 months to either primary intraocular lens (IOL) or contact lens correction. At 4.5 years of age a masked examiner assessed stereopsis on these patients using three different tests: 1) Frisby; 2) Randot Preschool; and 3) Titmus fly. Results Twenty-eight patients (25%) had a positive response to at least one of the stereopsis tests. There was no statistically significant difference in stereopsis between the two treatment groups. Frisby (contact lens, 6 (11%); IOL, 7 (13%); p=0.99), Randot (contact lens, 3 (6%); IOL, 1 (2%); p=0.62) or Titmus: (contact lens, 8 (15%); IOL, 13 (23%); p=0.34). The median age at surgery for patients with stereopsis was younger than for those without stereopsis (1.2 versus 2.4 months; p=0.002). The median visual acuity for patients with stereopsis was better than for those without stereopsis (20/40 vs. 20/252; p=0.0003). Conclusion The type of optical correction did not influence stereopsis outcomes. However, two other factors did: age at surgery and visual acuity in the treated eye at age 4.5 years. Early surgery for unilateral congenital cataract and the presence of visual acuity better than or equal to 20/40 appear to be more important than the type of initial optical correction used for the development of stereopsis.