The use of atropine for treatment of amblyopia using the OptumLabs Data Warehouse

Atropine and patching are standard treatments for amblyopia, but the prevalence of atropine therapy in the United States is unknown. This study used the OptumLabs Data Warehouse to evaluate pharmacy claims for topical atropine to evaluate the frequency of its treatment for amblyopia and to compare demographic factors in cohorts of amblyopic children who were and were not prescribed atropine. Overall, 55.2% of amblyopic children were prescribed atropine more than once. The children who were prescribed atropine had a higher likelihood of living in geographic regions in the South or Midwest.