Two years’ atropine therapy had no additional effect on axial length in children using orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses, according to a Chinese study.
Researchers at Fudan University Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital, Shanghai, treated 73 patients with ortho-k lenses alone for one year before treating 37 of them with nightly 0.01% atropine for a further two years, while the remaining 36 continued with lenses alone.
The cumulative axial elongation over three years for both groups were virtually the same and the overall change in axial length did not differ significantly between them. Researchers concluded that low-concentration atopine had no effect on axial length for fast myopia progressors and poor responders of ortho-k.
For more on atropine, see https://www.nzoptics.co.nz/articles/archive/atropine-drop-approved-in-australia/ and https://www.nzoptics.co.nz/articles/archive/ote4-doing-it-for-the-kids/
