Optic Disc Parameters of Myopic Children with Atropine Treatment

• Published in: Current eye research Vol. 42; no. 12; pp. 1614 - 1619
• Main Authors: Chan, Li-Wei, Hsieh, Yi-Ting, Hsu, Wei-Cherng, Cheng, Han-Chih, Shen, Elizabeth P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02.12.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Atropine; Atropine - therapeutic use; Child; Child, Preschool; children; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Intraocular Pressure - drug effects; Male; Mydriatics - therapeutic use; myopia; Myopia - drug therapy; Nerve Fibers - pathology; optic disc parameters; Optic Disk - pathology; retinal fiber layer thickness; Retinal Ganglion Cells - pathology; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Visual Acuity - physiology; Atropine; myopia; optic disc parameters; children; retinal fiber layer thickness
• ISSN: 0271-3683; 1460-2202
• DOI: 10.1080/02713683.2017.1359846

Purpose: To characterize optic disc parameters, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), and the intraocular pressure (IOP) of myopic children under continual topical 0.25% atropine treatment. Methods: From October 1, 2010 to September 31, 2011, 67 eyes of 35 myopic children were recruited. The children were treated with 0.25% atropine nightly for myopia control. Visual acuity, refraction, IOP, axial length (AL, IOL Master), RNFLT, and optic disc parameters (Stratus OCT) were measured at enrollment and every 2 months. All patients had at least 1 year of follow-up. Results: Enrolled children had a mean age of 10.3 ± 2.4 years (5-15 years). Of the 67 studied eyes, the mean spherical equivalent (SE) was −2.60 ± 1.58 diopters (D) (−6.75-−0.5 D). Under the treatment of 0.25% atropine, myopia increased by 0.53 ± 0.10D per year (P < 0.0001), and AL elongated by 0.245 ± 0.042 mm per year (P < 0.0001). No significant change was noted in the IOP and optic nerve parameters including peripapillary RNFLT, areas of optic disc, cup and rim, or cup/disc ratio over the follow-up period during atropine treatment (P > 0.05). Conclusions: 0.25% Atropine treatment for myopia control did not significantly affect the IOP, optic nerve parameters, and RNFLT in children over a mean of 15.2 ± 2.4 months treatment and follow-up. 0.25% Atropine is a relatively safe option for myopia control.