Analysis of the reports of low-concentration atropine in controlling myopia in children

To evaluate the efficacy of 0.01% atropine to slow the progression of myopia in children.

We searched PubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, CNKI, Cqvip and Wan fang databases from inception to January 2022, including RCTs (randomized controlled trials) and non-RCTs (non-randomized controlled trials). The search strategy was 'myopia' OR 'refractive error' and 'atropine.' Two researchers independently reviewed the articles, and stata12.0 was used for meta-analysis. The Jadad score was used to assess the quality of RCT, and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for non-RCTs.

Five RCTs and two non-RCTs (1 prospective non-randomized controlled study, 1 retrospective cohort study) were identified (including 1000 eyes). Results of the meta-analysis showed statistical heterogeneity among the 7 included studies (P=0. 026, I² =47.1%). According to different durations of atropine use - 4 months, 6 months and greater than 8 months, subgroup analysis results showed that the axial elongation of all experimental groups relative to control groups were respectively -0.03mm (95% [CI], (confidence interval), -0.07 to 0.01), -0.07mm (95% [CI], -0.10 to -0.05), -0.09mm (95% [CI], -0.12 to -0.06). Each P was greater than 0.05, which indicated that there is little heterogeneity among the subgroups.

In this meta-analysis of the short-term efficacy of atropine in myopia patients, it was found that there was little heterogeneity when grouped by usage time. It is suggested that the use of atropine in the treatment of myopia is not only related to its concentration but also related to the duration of use.