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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Inducement and Evaluation of a Murine Model of Experimental Myopia
Published on: January 22, 2019
Tropicamide (1%): an effective cycloplegic agent for myopic children
R E Manny1, M Hussein, M Scheiman
1College of Optometry, University of Houston, 505 J. Davis Armistead Bldg., Houston, TX 77204-2020, USA. rmanny@uh.edu
Insights
One percent tropicamide effectively induces cycloplegia in children with myopia. This study found the drug
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- Myopia is a common refractive error in children.
- Accurate refractive error assessment is crucial for myopia management.
- Cycloplegic agents are used to relax accommodation for precise refraction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the efficacy of 1% tropicamide as a cycloplegic agent in myopic children.
- To investigate potential associations between tropicamide's efficacy and demographic or refractive factors.
Main Methods:
- A multicenter, randomized, double-masked trial involving 469 myopic children.
- Administration of proparacaine followed by two drops of 1% tropicamide.
- Measurement of accommodative responses using an autorefractor to determine residual accommodation.
Main Results:
- 1% tropicamide demonstrated a significant cycloplegic effect in myopic children.
- Mean residual accommodation was minimal (0.38 D OD, 0.30 D OS).
- Ethnicity showed a statistically significant association with residual accommodation, unlike other factors.
Conclusions:
- 1% tropicamide is a safe and effective cycloplegic agent for refractive examination in pediatric myopia.
- The findings support the use of tropicamide for cycloplegic refraction in this population.
Purpose:
To evaluate the cycloplegic effect of 1% tropicamide in myopic children and to determine whether its efficacy is associated with age, gender, iris color, ethnicity, magnitude of the refractive error, or latent error.
Methods:
Four hundred sixty-nine children enrolled in the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial (COMET; a multicenter, randomized, double-masked clinical trial evaluating the rate of progression of juvenile-onset myopia in children wearing progressive-addition versus single-vision lenses) were given 1 drop of proparacaine in each eye followed 1 minute later by 1 drop of 1% tropicamide and then a second drop of 1% tropicamide 4 to 6 minutes later. Five accommodative responses to 20/100 letters located at 4 m and 33 cm were obtained in each eye with an autorefractor, 20 minutes after the second drop. Residual accommodation was calculated as the difference between the mean spherical equivalent responses obtained at the two distances. An examiner graded iris color, and ethnicity was reported by the children's parents or guardians.
Results:
The mean residual accommodation was small: 0.38 +/- 0.41 diopters (D) in the right eye and 0.30 +/- 0.41 D in the left eye. Small but statistically significant differences in residual accommodation were associated with ethnicity, but not with any of the other factors.
Conclusions:
Tropicamide (1%) is an effective cycloplegic agent in myopic children.
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