Myopia progression and axial elongation in Spanish children: Efficacy of atropine 0.01% eye-drops

To assess myopia progression in Spanish children and whether treatment with low-dose atropine eye drops delays myopia progression and axial elongation. Materials and methods. 339 eyes of 339 Caucasian patients with myopia, aged 5 to 11 years, were examined. Participants were randomized to a treatment arm, receiving one atropine (0.01%) eye drop/day for two, and an untreated control arm. At the baseline and 2-year follow-up visits, we recorded: spherical equivalent (SE), axial length (AL), mean keratometry (Mean-K) and anterior chamber depth (ACD). We also examined the rate of children with higher myopia progression (change in SE >1 D/2 years) and identified risk factors for progression. In 339 eyes of the 339 children (age=7.61; SD 1.70; range 5–11 years), the mean baseline SE was–2.15 (SD 0.62) D, and AL was 24.24 (SD 0.79) mm. After 2 years, higher increases occurred in all variables except ACD in the untreated group vs. the atropine group, respectively: SE (−0.51 (SD 0.39) D vs. −0.76 (SD 0.37) D, P