The oculomotor status and binocular capabilities of patients with keratoconus are compromised at a higher rate than those without it, according to new research from the University of São Paulo in Brazil.

The research, published in the April issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Vision Science, evaluated the factors associated with binocular disturbance by assessing 54 subjects with keratoconus and 29 without the progressive corneal ectasia. Of the group with keratoconus, 15% had strabismus. None of the patients in the other group had any strabismus. The investigators also found poorer stereopsis performance in the keratoconus group.

“Future studies are needed to elucidate or reinforce the factors associated with the loss of binocularity in keratoconus,” the authors concluded. “Testing for stereopsis may be helpful to consider in the treatment guidelines for keratoconus.”