An intervention trial on efficacy of atropine and multi‐focal glasses in controlling myopic progression

. Purpose: This randomized clinical trial assessed the treatment effects of atropine and/or multi-focal lenses in decreasing the progression rate of myopia in children. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-seven schoolchildren with myopia, aged from 6 to 13 years, who were stratified based on gender, age and the initial amount of myopia were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: 0.5% atropine with multi-focal glasses, multi-focal glasses, and single vision spectacles. Each subject was followed for at least eighteen months. These results report on the 188 patients available for the follow-up. Results: The mean progression of myopia in atropine with multi-focal glasses group (0.41 D) was significantly less than the multi-focal (1.19 D) and single vision group (1.40 D) (p<0.0001). But no significant difference was noted between the last two groups (p=0.44). The progression of myopia was significantly correlated with the increases of axial length (r=0.65, p=0.0001), but not with the changes of corneal power (r=−0.09), anterior chamber depth (r=−0.023), lens thickness (r=−0.08), or intra-ocular pressure (r=−0.008). Conclusion: The 0.5% atropine with multi-focal lenses can slow down the progression rate of myopia. However, multi-focal lenses alone showed no difference in effect compared to control.