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Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

NCT number NCT03459092
Other study ID # 33IC30 173533
Secondary ID
Status Completed
Phase Phase 3
First received
Last updated
Start date August 16, 2018
Est. completion date July 31, 2023

Study information

Verified date November 2023
Source Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern
Contact n/a
Is FDA regulated No
Health authority
Study type Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate if strabismus can be successfully treated requiring less surgical interventions with a Botox-based treatment regimen compared to a purely surgery based treatment regimen. Experimental arm: Botulinum toxin injection in the horizontal extraocular muscles. Control (active comparator) arm: Strabismus surgery on the horizontal extraocular muscles. No investigational product is used. In Switzerland the standard procedure for treating large angle esotropia is surgery, which is performed on the horizontal eye muscles that may be either recessed or shortened leading to reduced or increased muscle function respectively. As an alternative to strabismus surgery, botulinum toxin (Botox) can be applied in extraocular muscles. Botox prevents the release of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft and thereby blocks the neuromuscular transmission thus inducing a palsy. Current evidence on the use of Botox in strabismus is incoherent, is poorly supported by basic research findings and leaves dedicated clinicians in the dark. The objective is to shed light into this field of clinical research, which may help to guide future pediatric ophthalmologists in their management of strabismic patients. In a best case scenario, the results from this trial will prevent strabismus operation for many children with acquired large angle esotropia.


Description:

Patients with acquired large angle esotropia (an inward deviation of the ocular axis by more than 5°) that develops after one year of age have a potential to regain binocular vision if a retinal image appears on corresponding retinal areas of both eyes. The main goal of therapy in these patients is the restoration of binocular vision. In Switzerland the standard procedure for treating large angle esotropia is surgery, which is performed on the horizontal eye muscles that may be either recessed or shortened leading to reduced or increased muscle function respectively. As an alternative to strabismus surgery, botulinum toxin (Botox) can be applied in extraocular muscles. Botox prevents the release of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft and thereby blocks the neuromuscular transmission thus inducing a palsy. Current evidence on the use of Botox in strabismus is incoherent, is poorly supported by basic research findings and leaves dedicated clinicians in the dark. The goal is to shed light into this field of clinical research, which may help to guide future pediatric ophthalmologists in their management of strabismic patients. The goal of the study is to test if, with a botulinum-toxin-based treatment regimen, strabismus can be successfully treated requiring less surgical interventions. The primary objective is to test if the Botox-based treatment regimen is not inferior to surgical treatment in terms of orthotropic success. If this is shown, the number of surgeries required will be compared between the two groups (main secondary objective). The hypothesis is that the Botox-based treatment regimen, which permits performance of rescue surgery, is successful in a similar proportion of patients as the purely surgical approach. The second hypothesis is that only about 20% of patients treated with Botox require surgery at all as compared to about 10% of patients in the surgical arm that need a second surgery. Analysis of the primary outcome The proportion of orthotropic success for both groups will be calculated with a corresponding 95% confidence interval. For the comparison between the two groups, the stratified risk difference for the stratification factors used in randomization will be calculated with a corresponding one-sided lower 95% confidence limit. If the lower limit lies above -12%, non-inferiority will be claimed. Analysis of the main secondary outcome The proportion of second interventions for both groups will be calculated with a corresponding 95% confidence interval. For the comparison between the two groups, a stratified risk difference for the stratification factors used in randomization will be calculated with a corresponding one-sided upper 95% confidence limit. If the upper limit lies below 40% and if non-inferiority for the primary outcome could be demonstrated, a clinical benefit of the new treatment will be claimed.


Recruitment information / eligibility

Status Completed
Enrollment 63
Est. completion date July 31, 2023
Est. primary completion date July 31, 2023
Accepts healthy volunteers No
Gender All
Age group 1 Year to 17 Years
Eligibility Inclusion Criteria: 1. Informed consent of trial participant and/or legal representative documented per signature 2. Age > 1 year and <17 years 3. Esotropia > 10Prisms 4. Indication for an intervention (either Botox or surgery) has been made. 5. Any of the following: - Presence of a secondary strabismus from binocular disruption the cause of the binocular disruption is no longer present - Decompensated microstrabismus - Decompensated phoria - Acute acquired esotropia 6. Positive test of binocular function at any time point in the past, including any of the following - Titmus test - Bagolini striated glasses test - Lang-stereo-test with correct naming of at least one panel - Good ocular alignment after 6 months of age on at least 2 photographs Exclusion Criteria: 1. Known hypersensitivity to botulinum toxin 2. Known neuromuscular disorder 3. Known present neurological disorder affecting the central nervous system Including paresis on cranial nerves number 3, 4 and 6 4. Any of the following: - nystagmus - dissociated vertical deviation 5. Vertical deviation in any gaze direction greater than 5° 6. Incomitance with more than 5° of difference between the left and right horizontal gaze direction 7. Previous strabismus surgery 8. Previous Botulinum toxin treatment on extraocular muscles 9. Presence of ophthalmic pathologies significantly preventing binocular functions. A significant alteration of binocular function is assumed if vision is smaller than 0.1 or the visual field has a horizontal diameter of less than 20°. 10. Pregnancy. A negative pregnancy test before randomization is required for all women of child-bearing potential. 11. Preterm children born before 36 weeks of gestation.

Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


Intervention

Drug:
Botulinum toxin type A
Botulinum toxin injection in the horizontal extraocular muscles.
Procedure:
Strabismus surgery
Strabismus surgery on the horizontal extraocular muscles

Locations

Country Name City State
France Institut Ophtalmologique Sourdille Atlantique Saint-Herblain
Switzerland Basel University Hopital Basel
Switzerland Bern University Hospital Bern
Switzerland Geneva University Hospital, HUG Geneva
Switzerland Lausanne Univeristy Hospital, CHUV Lausanne
Switzerland Luzerner Kantonsspital Lucerne
Switzerland Kantonsspital St. Gallen Saint Gallen
Switzerland University Hospital Zürich Zürich

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor Collaborator
Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

Countries where clinical trial is conducted

France,  Switzerland, 

References & Publications (28)

Ares C, Superstein R. Retrobulbar hemorrhage following strabismus surgery. J AAPOS. 2006 Dec;10(6):594-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2006.04.005. Epub 2006 Oct 2. — View Citation

Baggesen K, Arnljot HM. Treatment of congenital esotropia with botulinum toxin type A. Acta Ophthalmol. 2011 Aug;89(5):484-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2009.01737.x. Epub 2009 Oct 30. — View Citation

Biglan AW, Burnstine RA, Rogers GL, Saunders RA. Management of strabismus with botulinum A toxin. Ophthalmology. 1989 Jul;96(7):935-43. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(89)32776-x. — View Citation

Bradbury JA, Taylor RH. Severe complications of strabismus surgery. J AAPOS. 2013 Feb;17(1):59-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2012.10.016. Epub 2013 Jan 23. — View Citation

BURIAN HM, MILLER JE. Comitant convergent strabismus with acute onset. Am J Ophthalmol. 1958 Apr;45(4 Pt 2):55-64. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(58)90223-x. No abstract available. — View Citation

Campos EC, Schiavi C, Bellusci C. Critical age of botulinum toxin treatment in essential infantile esotropia. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2000 Nov-Dec;37(6):328-32; quiz 354-5. doi: 10.3928/0191-3913-20001101-05. — View Citation

Carruthers JD, Kennedy RA, Bagaric D. Botulinum vs adjustable suture surgery in the treatment of horizontal misalignment in adult patients lacking fusion. Arch Ophthalmol. 1990 Oct;108(10):1432-5. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1990.01070120080033. — View Citation

de Alba Campomanes AG, Binenbaum G, Campomanes Eguiarte G. Comparison of botulinum toxin with surgery as primary treatment for infantile esotropia. J AAPOS. 2010 Apr;14(2):111-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2009.12.162. — View Citation

Dysli M, Abegg M. Gaze-dependent phoria and vergence adaptation. J Vis. 2016;16(3):2. doi: 10.1167/16.3.2. — View Citation

Dysli M, Keller F, Abegg M. Acute onset incomitant image disparity modifies saccadic and vergence eye movements. J Vis. 2015 Mar 18;15(3):12. doi: 10.1167/15.3.12. — View Citation

Gursoy H, Basmak H, Sahin A, Yildirim N, Aydin Y, Colak E. Long-term follow-up of bilateral botulinum toxin injections versus bilateral recessions of the medial rectus muscles for treatment of infantile esotropia. J AAPOS. 2012 Jun;16(3):269-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2012.01.010. — View Citation

Hatt SR, Leske DA, Liebermann L, Holmes JM. Comparing outcome criteria performance in adult strabismus surgery. Ophthalmology. 2012 Sep;119(9):1930-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2012.02.035. Epub 2012 Apr 26. — View Citation

Helveston EM, Ellis FD, Schott J, Mitchelson J, Weber JC, Taube S, Miller K. Surgical treatment of congenital esotropia. Am J Ophthalmol. 1983 Aug;96(2):218-28. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)77790-6. — View Citation

Kushner BJ, Morton GV. A randomized comparison of surgical procedures for infantile esotropia. Am J Ophthalmol. 1984 Jul 15;98(1):50-61. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(84)90188-0. — View Citation

Lee J, Harris S, Cohen J, Cooper K, MacEwen C, Jones S. Results of a prospective randomized trial of botulinum toxin therapy in acute unilateral sixth nerve palsy. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 1994 Sep-Oct;31(5):283-6. doi: 10.3928/0191-3913-19940901-03. — View Citation

Liu M, Lee HC, Hertle RW, Ho AC. Retinal detachment from inadvertent intraocular injection of botulinum toxin A. Am J Ophthalmol. 2004 Jan;137(1):201-2. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(03)00837-7. — View Citation

Lueder GT, Galli M, Tychsen L, Yildirim C, Pegado V. Long-term results of botulinum toxin-augmented medial rectus recessions for large-angle infantile esotropia. Am J Ophthalmol. 2012 Mar;153(3):560-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2011.08.019. Epub 2011 Oct 13. — View Citation

Lyons CJ, Tiffin PA, Oystreck D. Acute acquired comitant esotropia: a prospective study. Eye (Lond). 1999 Oct;13 ( Pt 5):617-20. doi: 10.1038/eye.1999.169. — View Citation

Mahan M, Engel JM. The resurgence of botulinum toxin injection for strabismus in children. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2017 Sep;28(5):460-464. doi: 10.1097/ICU.0000000000000408. — View Citation

McNeer KW, Tucker MG, Spencer RF. Botulinum toxin management of essential infantile esotropia in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 1997 Nov;115(11):1411-8. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1997.01100160581010. — View Citation

Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group; Christiansen SP, Chandler DL, Lee KA, Superstein R, de Alba Campomanes A, Bothun ED, Morin J, Wallace DK, Kraker RT. Tonic pupil after botulinum toxin-A injection for treatment of esotropia in children. J AAPOS. 2016 Feb;20(1):78-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2015.09.011. — View Citation

Pehere N, Jalali S, Mathai A, Naik M, Ramesh K. Inadvertent intraocular injection of botulinum toxin A. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2011 Jan 25;48 Online:e1-3. doi: 10.3928/01913913-20110118-06. — View Citation

Rowe FJ, Noonan CP. Botulinum toxin for the treatment of strabismus. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Mar 2;3(3):CD006499. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006499.pub4. — View Citation

Scheiman M, Ciner E, Gallaway M. Surgical success rates in infantile esotropia. J Am Optom Assoc. 1989 Jan;60(1):22-31. — View Citation

Scott AB. Botulinum toxin injection into extraocular muscles as an alternative to strabismus surgery. Ophthalmology. 1980 Oct;87(10):1044-9. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(80)35127-0. — View Citation

Tejedor J, Rodriguez JM. Early retreatment of infantile esotropia: comparison of reoperation and botulinum toxin. Br J Ophthalmol. 1999 Jul;83(7):783-7. doi: 10.1136/bjo.83.7.783. — View Citation

Tejedor J, Rodriguez JM. Retreatment of children after surgery for acquired esotropia: reoperation versus botulinum injection. Br J Ophthalmol. 1998 Feb;82(2):110-4. doi: 10.1136/bjo.82.2.110. — View Citation

Wan MJ, Mantagos IS, Shah AS, Kazlas M, Hunter DG. Comparison of Botulinum Toxin With Surgery for the Treatment of Acute-Onset Comitant Esotropia in Children. Am J Ophthalmol. 2017 Apr;176:33-39. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2016.12.024. Epub 2017 Jan 3. — View Citation

* Note: There are 28 references in allClick here to view all references

Outcome

Type Measure Description Time frame Safety issue
Other Total duration of binocular vision (exploratory outcome) The duration is calculated as the sum of time periods between consecutive assessments with presence of binocular vision. At 12 months, at 18 months
Other Incidence of short-term adverse events (safety outcome) Adverse event groups that will be evaluated separately are:
Ptosis
Double vision
Subjective post-treatment discomfort/pain
New vertical strabismus >1°
Limitations of ocular motility
Within two weeks of intervention
Other Incidence of ocular adverse events Within 18 months
Other Incidence of serious adverse events related to the treatment Within 18 months
Primary Number of patients with presence of binocular vision Presence of binocular vision is a binary variable set to yes when either of the following criteria is fulfilled:
No eye movement can be observed in the simultaneous prism covertest, performed according to the study specific SOP for full orthoptic workup, for both eyes measured at distance. This proves orthotropia and thus binocular vision can be assumed.
An esotropia of less than 5° is observed in the covertest at distance AND at near. In addition at least one binocular test demonstrates binocular vision. This proves compensated microstrabismus with anomalous retinal correspondence.
Binocular tests:
Lang-Stereotest
Butterfly- Stereotest
Titmus test
Bagolini striated glasses test
TNO-Test
Pencil-Test
At 18 months
Secondary Number of patients with second intervention Rescue surgery in Botox-based treatment arm and second surgery in surgery arm At 12 months, at 18 months
Secondary Number of patients with binocular vision Presence of binocular vision is a binary variable set to yes when either of the following criteria is fulfilled:
No eye movement can be observed in the simultaneous prism covertest, performed according to the study specific SOP for full orthoptic workup, for both eyes measured at distance. This proves orthotropia and thus binocular vision can be assumed.
An esotropia of less than 5° is observed in the covertest at distance AND at near. In addition at least one binocular test demonstrates binocular vision. This proves compensated microstrabismus with anomalous retinal correspondence.
Binocular tests:
Lang-Stereotest
Butterfly- Stereotest
Titmus test
Bagolini striated glasses test
TNO-Test
Pencil-Test
At 12 months
Secondary Number of patients with incomitance Incomitance is here defined as the absolute difference of strabismus angle measured with the alternate prism cover test at 25° left gaze and the angle measured at 25° right gaze At 12 months, at 18 months
Secondary Number of patients with treatment-specific presence of binocular vision For this outcome patients with a second intervention are defined as failures (no). At 12 months, at 18 months
Secondary Number of surgeries per participant At 12 months, at 18 months
Secondary Number of surgeries needed per successful outcome Successful outcome = binocular vision At 12 months, at 18 months
Secondary Change in strabismus angle, measured in percent Measured as percentage of preoperative deviation from baseline. The strabismus angle measured with the alternate prism cover test, performed in primary position at distance is used. Change of deviation in percent of preoperative deviation is calculated as follows:
100*(preoperative deviation - postoperative deviation) / preoperative deviation
At 12 months, at 18 months
Secondary Binocular function, measured in arc seconds When binocular vision is present, the binocular function is the best stereoscopic acuity, measured in arc seconds, achieved for any of the below mentioned tests.
Lang-Stereotest
Butterfly- Stereotest
Titmus test
Bagolini striated glasses test
TNO-Test
Pencil-Test
At 12 months, at 18 months