Objectives: To assess the decrease in myopia progression and rebound effect using topical low-dose atropine compared to a combined treatment with contact lenses for myopic control. Methods: This retrospective review study included 85 children aged 10.34 ± 2.27 (range 6 to 15.5) who were followed over three years. All had a minimum myopia increase of 1.00 D the year prior to treatment. The children were divided into two treatment groups and a control group. One treatment group included 29 children with an average prescription of 4.81 ± 2.12 D (sphere equivalent (SE) range of 1.25−10.87 D), treated with 0.01% atropine for two years (A0.01%). The second group included 26 children with an average prescription of 4.14 ± 1.35 D (SE range of 1.625−6.00 D), treated with MiSight 1 day dual focus contact lenses (DFCL) and 0.01% atropine (A0.01% + DFCL) for two years. The control group included 30 children wearing single-vision spectacles (SV), averaging −5.06 ± 1.77 D (SE) range 2.37−8.87 D). Results: There was an increase in the SE myopia progression in the SV group of 1.19 ± 0.43 D, 1.25 ± 0.52 D, and 1.13 ± 0.36 D in the first, second, and third years, respectively. Myopia progression in the A0.01% group was 0.44 ± 0.21 D (p < 0.01) and 0.51 ± 0.39 D (p < 0.01) in the first and second years, respectively. In the A0.01% + DFCL group, myopia progression was 0.35 ± 0.26 D and 0.44 ± 0.40 D in the first and second years, respectively (p < 0.01). Half a year after the cessation of the atropine treatment, myopia progression (rebound effect) was measured at −0.241 ± 0.35 D and −0.178 ± 0.34 D in the A0.01% and A0.01% + DFCL groups, respectively. Conclusions: Monotherapy low-dose atropine, combined with peripheral blur contact lenses, was clinically effective in decreasing myopia progression. A low rebound effect was found after the therapy cessation. In this retrospective study, combination therapy did not present an advantage over monotherapy.
Keywords: atropine; contact lenses; myopia; myopia control; myopia progression.