NICE consults on draft low-dose atropine guidance

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is consulting on draft guidance that recommends against NHS funding of low-dose atropine for slowing the progression of myopia among children who meet specific criteria.

The draft guidance, which does not affect the use of atropine on a private basis, applies to children in England aged between three and 14 with a progression rate of 0.50D or more a year and a severity of -0.50 D to -6.00D.

“This recommendation is not intended to affect treatment with low-dose atropine eye drops that was started in the NHS before this guidance was published. People having treatment outside this recommendation may continue without change to the funding arrangements in place for them before this guidance was published,” the draft guidance states.

If the recommendations are finalised, then atropine would not be funded by the NHS for slowing the progression of myopia among children who meet the specified criteria.

“This is because there is not enough evidence to determine whether low-dose atropine eye drops are value for money in this population,” the draft guidance states.

Submissions to the consultation on the draft guidance can be made online before the consultation closes on 19 August.

Consultation submissions are encouraged to cover whether all relevant evidence has been considered in preparing the draft guidance and reflect on whether summaries of clinical and cost effectiveness are reasonable interpretations of the evidence.

Following the publication of the draft NICE guidance, the AOP updated the atropine section of its myopia management guidance to reflect this latest development.