Assessment of the impact of low-dose atropine on visual performance in daily activities of children with myopia

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the impact of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03% atropine eye drops on distance and near visual acuity in children, as well as their subjective responses over 2 weeks of use. A prospective, double-blinded, randomised clinical trial was conducted on 58 children aged 8-12 years at the Department of Ophthalmology, An Sinh Hospital over 6 months. The differences in best-corrected visual acuity at distance and near between the two-week and baseline visits with 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03% atropine were -0.01±0.05, 0.01±0.05, 0.02±0.09 LogMAR (p=0.637) and 0.03±0.06, 0.05±0.04, 0.05±0.06 LogMAR (p=0.281), respectively. The rate of children reporting light sensitivity was 20-30% (depending on concentration), and there were no significant differences between the groups (p>0.05). All concentrations of atropine assessed did not have any impact on distance visual acuity. There was a clinically insignificant reduction in near visual acuity in the 0.02 and 0.03% atropine groups. Light sensitivity was mostly rated as mild.