The Effect of 0.01% Atropine Eye Drops on Axial Length and Refraction in Myopic Children Compared to a Control Group

Inclusion criteria

• Children aged 4-16 years
• Both genders
• Myopia of baseline SER of -1.00D or more
• Astigmatism less than or equal to -2.50D
• No medical history predisposing severe myopia (e.g., Marfan syndrome, Stickler syndrome, and retinopathy of prematurity), abnormal ocular refractive anatomy (e.g., keratoconus, lenticonus, and spherophakia)
• No history of other vision-threatening ocular diseases or previous intraocular surgery.
• No current or previous use of atropine or pirenzipine, contact lenses or other forms of treatment that may affect myopia progression.

Exclusion criteria

• Astigmatism ≥ 2.5 D
• Anisometropia>1 D
• Best corrected visual acuity < 0.5 (6/12)
• Prior intraocular surgery
• Allergy to atropine eye drops
• Systemic diseases associated with myopia such as Marfan syndrome, Stickler syndrome
• History of cardiac or significant respiratory diseases
• Lack of consent for participating in the study