No advantage of Atropine addition to soft multifocal contact lens for myopia correction in kids
Addition of 0.01% atropine to soft multifocal contact lens failed to correct myopia, according to a new study. Combining 0.01% atropine with soft multifocal contact lenses (SMCL) failed to demonstrate better myopia control than soft multifocal contact lenses (SMCL) alone.
The study has been published in Optometry and Vision Science.
The Bifocal & Atropine in Myopia (BAM) study investigated whether combining 0.01% atropine and soft multifocal contact lenses (SMCL) with +2.50-D add power leads to greater slowing of myopia progression and axial elongation than SMCL alone.
BAM participants wore SMCL with +2.50-D add power daily and were administered 0.01% atropine eye drops nightly (n = 46). The BAM subjects (Bifocal + Atropine) were age-matched to 46 participants in the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study who wore SMCL with +2.50-D add (Bifocal) and 46 BLINK participants who wore single vision contact lenses (Single Vision). The primary outcome was the 3-year change in spherical equivalent refractive error determined by cycloplegic autorefraction, and the 3-year change in axial elongation was also evaluated.
Results:
Of the total 138 subjects, the mean age was 10.1 ± 1.2 years and the mean spherical equivalent was -2.28 ± 0.89 D. The 3-year adjusted mean myopia progression was -0.52 D for Bifocal + Atropine, -0.55 D for Bifocal, and -1.09 D for Single Vision. The difference in myopia progression was 0.03 D (95% CI, -0.14 to 0.21) for Bifocal + Atropine vs Bifocal and 0.57 D (95% CI, 0.38-0.77) for Bifocal + Atropine vs Single Vision. The 3-year adjusted axial elongation was 0.31 mm for Bifocal + Atropine, 0.39 mm for Bifocal, and 0.68 mm for Single Vision. The difference in axial elongation was -0.08 mm (95% CI, -0. 16 to 0.002) for Bifocal + Atropine vs Bifocal and -0.37 mm (95% CI, -0.46 to -0.28) for Bifocal + Atropine vs Single Vision.
Thus, adding 0.01% atropine to soft multifocal contact lenses (SMCL) with +2.50-D add power failed to demonstrate better myopia control than soft multifocal contact lenses (SMCL) alone.
Reference:
Effect of Combining 0.01% Atropine with Soft Multifocal Contact Lenses on Myopia Progression in Children by Jones, Jenny Huang et al. published in Optometry and Vision Science.
