Three-year results from CHAMP atropine trial published

Scientists have published the results of a three-year trial of low-dose atropine involving 573 children across 27 clinical sites in the US and Europe.

The research, which was published in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that after three years of instilling 0.01% atropine eye drops each night, both axial elongation and spherical equivalent refractive error progression in the study population had slowed down when compared with the control group.

There were no serious ocular adverse events associated with the low-dose atropine eye drops.

“The efficacy and safety observed suggest that low-dose atropine may provide a treatment option for childhood myopia progression,” the authors highlighted.

Study participants given 0.02% atropine experienced a slowing of axial elongation when compared to the placebo group. However, there was no significant slowing of spherical equivalent refractive error progression.

The authors highlighted that in the population studied, low-dose atropine could provide an important early treatment option for young children.

“From a risk/benefit perspective, the efficacy and safety observed suggests that low-dose atropine may provide a treatment option for children aged three to 17 years with myopia progression, which may lead to less frequent or delayed change in glasses, progression to less severe correction, and potentially reduce long-term sequelae, which could lead to vision loss later in life, such as myopic maculopathy,” they shared.