Efficacy of topical low-dose atropine eye drops (0.01%) in slowing myopia progression in school-age children

Abstract

Purpose: To study the effect of low-dose topical atropine eye drops (0.01%) in slowing myopia progression in school-age children. Methods: This was a prospective randomized controlled study, in children in the age group of 5–15 years, with myopic refractive error (spherical equivalent) between −1.0D and −5.0D at the time of presentation. A total of 100 patients were studied and randomly divided into two groups of 50 each: the control group and the atropine group. They were followed up 3 monthly for cycloplegic refraction, axial length (AL), pupil size, accommodation, and binocular stereopsis for near for a time period of 2 years. Results: Over a period of 2 years, there was a statistically significant decrease in the progression of myopic spherical equivalent and the AL in the atropine group. The accommodation and binocular stereopsis were comparable in both the groups. There was an average 0.7 mm increase in pupillary size posttreatment in the atropine group. Conclusions: The results of our study indicated that topical atropine (0.01%) is effective in retarding myopia progression at the end of 2 years of treatment. No child experienced allergic reaction, difficulty in reading, or photophobia during the trial period. Thus, atropine eye drops (0.01%) can be considered safe and efficacious in reducing the progression of myopia.

Keywords

• accommodation
• atropine 0.01% eye drops
• axial length
• cycloplegic refraction
• myopia
• near stereopsis
• pupil size
• spherical equivalent