Short-term effect of 0.01% atropine sulphate eye gel on myopia progression in children
Authors:   Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi&#x2019;an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi&#x2019;an 710061, Shaanxi Pronvince, China; Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an First Hospital, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China, Pan Shi-Yin , Li Jun ,   Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an First Hospital, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China, Zhang Xue-Hui ,   Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an First Hospital, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China, Wang Jin ,   Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an First Hospital, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China, Zhu Xiu-Ping ,   Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an First Hospital, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China, Xiao Xiang-Hua ,   Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an First Hospital, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi&#x2019;an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China, Liu Jun-Tian ,   Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi&#x2019;an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi&#x2019;an 710061, Shaanxi Pronvince, China
Published: July 2022

AIM: To investigate the effect of 0.01% atropine sulphate eye gel on myopia progression and axial elongation in a 6-month treatment in children.
METHODS: Totally 185 children aged 6-12y with binocular myopia of 3.0 D or less in both eyes were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. The atropine group (n=125) received one drop of 0.01% atropine sulphate eye gel in each eye before bedtime daily. The control group included 60 matched children without drug intervention during the same period. The spherical equivalent and axial length was recorded at baseline and the sixth month of treatment. The efficacy was evaluated by the change of the spherical equivalent and axial length. Adverse events were also recorded.
RESULTS: The average spherical equivalent and axial length at baseline were not statistically significant between the atropine group (-1.64±0.80 D, 24.13±0.76 mm) and the control group (-1.59±0.94 D, 24.06±0.77 mm, P>0.05). After 6mo, there was significantly difference in the spherical equivalent progression between the atropine and the control group (-0.27±0.33 vs -0.60±0.35 D, P<0.001), with a relative reduction of 55.0% in myopia progression. The increase in axial elongation in the atropine group was significantly less than control group (0.19±0.14 vs 0.26±0.14 mm, P<0.001), with a relative reduction of 26.9% in axial length. The 84.4% and 38.4% of the eyes progressed by less than 0.50 D and remained stable in the atropine group, compared with 51.7% and 4.2% in the control group. No adverse events were observed.
CONCLUSION: Atropine sulphate eye gel 0.01% can slow down myopia progression and axial elongation in children with a 6-month treatment.