The Effect of Cyclopentolate on Ocular Biometric Components.

SIGNIFICANCE It is apparent that a variety of biometric changes are caused by different types of cycloplegic eye drops. However, these effects are inconsistent and have not been reported in different refractive groups. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cyclopentolate 1% on ocular biometric components in different types of refractive errors in children. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on 226 eyes of 113 schoolchildren in Shahroud, northeast Iran, with a mean ± standard deviation age of 9.20 ± 1.65 years. All participants had noncycloplegic and cycloplegic objective refraction using an autorefractometer. Cycloplegia was induced using cyclopentolate 1% eye drops. Biometric measurements were made with Allegro Biograph (WaveLight AG, Erlangen, Germany) before and after administering cycloplegic drops. Mixed-effect model regression was used to analyze the data. RESULTS After cycloplegia, the vitreous chamber depth (VCD) (-0.043; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.067 to -0.019 mm), lens thickness (-0.146; 95% CI, -0.175 to -0.117 mm), axial length (-0.009; 95% CI, -0.012 to -0.006 mm), and lens power (-0.335; 95% CI, -0.463 to -0.208 D) decreased significantly, whereas the anterior chamber depth (ACD) (0.183; 95% CI, 0.164 to 0.202 mm), anterior segment length (0.036; 95% CI, 0.014 to 0.058) mm), lens central point (0.109; 95% CI, 0.094 to 0.124 mm), and pupil diameter (1.599; 95% CI, 1.482 to 1.716 mm) increased (P value for all tests, <.001). For changes in VCD and ACD, a significant interaction was observed between different types of refractive errors and cycloplegia, such that the adjusted mean change for ACD was significantly lower and for VCD was significantly higher in hyperopes compared with emmetropes. Lens center moves backward in myopes (0.17 mm) and stays the same in hyperopes under cycloplegia. CONCLUSIONS According to the findings of this study, cycloplegia reduces the thickness of the crystalline lens and subsequently causes an increase in the ACD. Cycloplegia-related ocular biometric changes were different by type of refractive error.