Suppression of Physiologic Diplopia in Intermittent Exotropia

Abstract

Patients with intermittent exotropia were tested for the awareness of physiologic diplopia in an attempt to determine whether or not they have suppression of their peripheral retina during the latent phase of their deviation. Seventy-four percent of the 35 patients tested suppressed bitemporal physiologic diplopia. Those patients who did appreciate bitemporal physiologic diplopia were tested for the localization of the images. All were found to have crossed localization. There was no correlation between stereoacuity and suppression of physiologic diplopia. Depth of suppression when tropic, however, did correlate with suppression of physiologic diplopia in that 90% of those patients who had deep suppression by the red glass diplopia test.suppressed physiologic diplopia, while only 29% of those patients who had little or no suppression by the red glass test suppressed physiologic diplopia. A specially designed apparatus was used to measure the area of suppression on temporal retina in those patients who did not appreciate bitemporal physiologic diplopia. Suppression of binasal physiologic diplopia was found in 19% of the patients tested.