Efficacy and safety of low concentration atropine eye drops for control of childhood myopia

Objective To detect the efficacy and safety of low concentration atropine eye drops on progression of myopia in children. Patients and methods This prospective study included 320 eyes of 160 healthy myopic children divided blindly into four groups, groups 1, 2, and 3 which received.0.01, 0.025%, and 0.05% atropine eye drops respectively, and group 4 (control group)which did not receive atropine eye drops. Best corrected visual acuity and cycloplegic refraction were measured at baseline then at 6th and 12th months follow-up time. Results There was no significant difference between best corrected visual acuity at baseline and at 6th and 12th months follow-up in all four groups or among them ( P =1.0). The cycloplegic refraction of all groups showed myopic shift at 6th and 12th months follow-up. At 12th months, the most significant myopic shift was in group 4, followed by group 1, group 2, then group 3 ( P =0.0000000012, P =0.000013, P =0.000087, P =0.0017, respectively). The rates of myopic progression of the four groups at 6th month were (–0.15D, −0.1D, −0.056D, −0.25D, respectively), and at 12th month were (–0.3D, −0.23D, −0.16D, −0.69D, respectively). The three treated groups showed a significant decrease in myopia progression in compare with control group at 6th month ( P =0.02, P =.0003, P =0.00006, respectively), and in the 12th month ( P =0.000023, P =0.0000084, P =0.0000031, respectively). Conclusion In a concentration-dependent manner, the atropine eye drops at 0.01, 0.025, and 0.05% slowed the progression of myopia. Every concentration was well tolerated and had no negative side effects. Over the course of a year, 0.05% atropine was the most successful in slowing the advancement of myopia among the three concentrations that were employed.