One-Year Results of 0.01% and 0.05% Atropine Eye Drops in Childhood Myopia Progression.

Purpose: To compare 0.01% and 0.05% atropine eye drops with every other day treatment for slowing myopia progression in children.

Methods: Children aged 5 to 15 years who had myopia of -1.00 to 8.00 diopters (D), astigmatism less than -2.50 D, and myopic progression of at least 1.00 D in the past year were included in the retrospective study. The 0.01% and 0.05% atropine eye drops were applied every other day. At each visit, all patients underwent complete ophthalmic examination including cycloplegic refraction, axial length (AL), and photopic-mesopic pupil sizes. Spherical equivalent (SE), AL, and photopicmesopic pupil sizes were evaluated.

Results: In total, 92 eyes of 46 patients were included in the study (22 in the 0.01% atropine group and 24 in the 0.05% atropine group). At the end of the 12-month follow-up period, the mean SE changes were -0.41 ± 0.28 and -0.19 ± 0.22 D in the 0.01% and 0.05% atropine groups, respectively (P < .001). The AL changes were 0.19 ± 0.16 and 0.16 ± 024 mm in the 0.01% and 0.05% atropine groups, respectively (P = .52). Side effects such as photophobia and blurred near vision were not observed in the 0.01% atropine group, but in the 0.05% atropine group, photophobia was observed in 3(12.5%) cases and blurred near vision was observed in 8 (33%) cases.

Conclusions: The 0.01% and 0.05% atropine eye drops significantly slowed the progression of myopia with every other day use. The 0.01% atropine was better tolerated than 0.05% atropine. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 20XX;X(X):XXX-XXX.].