Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Study (CITS)

Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common and distinct binocular vision disorder that affects approximately 4% of school age children and adults in the United States. Convergence insufficiency is often associated with symptoms such as frequent loss of place while reading, loss of concentration, having to re-read, reading slowly, poor comprehension, sleepiness, blurred vision, diplopia, headaches, and/or eyestrain. A recently completed randomized clinical trial, the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), demonstrated that a 12-week program of office-based vergence/ accommodative therapy with home reinforcement was more effective than home-based near target pencil push-ups, home-based computer accommodative therapy plus pencil push-ups, or office-based placebo therapy in treating the symptoms and signs associated with symptomatic CI in children 9 to 17 years of age. While the home-based therapies in the CITT were not as effective as office-based vergence/accommodative therapy there was some improvement noted. Currently, many eye care professionals only offer home-based therapy, while others suggest passive treatment with base-in prism. At a Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) meeting (Tampa, January 2009), the results of a poll of attendees indicated that a large majority of pediatric ophthalmologists continue to recommend home-based near target push-ups as the initial treatment approach for children with symptomatic CI in spite of the CITT results. There are significant differences in contact time, complexity, and cost between office-based and home-based therapy for CI. Many clinicians believe that the less costly and less complex treatment option should be attempted first. Although home-based therapy using computer software is becoming more popular, no prospective data are available to demonstrate the effectiveness of home-based vision therapy using computer software compared to home-based near target push-ups or home-based placebo computer therapy. A prospective clinical trial is therefore needed to determine the effectiveness of home-based computer therapy for symptomatic CI compared to traditional home-based near target push-ups and placebo treatment. The current study is a multi-center randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based computer vergence/accommodative therapy and home-based near target push-ups in children 9 to \<18 years of age with symptomatic CI.