The Macular Choroidal Thickness in Danish Children with Myopia After Two-Year Low-Dose Atropine and One-Year Wash-Out: A Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial

• Published in: Ophthalmology and therapy 2024-12, Vol.13 (12), p.3111-3122
• Main Authors: Hansen, Niklas C., Hvid-Hansen, Anders, Bek, Toke, Møller, Flemming, Jacobsen, Nina, Kessel, Line
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atropine; Axial length; Choroid; Choroidal thickness; Eye drops; Internal Medicine; Macula; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Ophthalmology; Original Research
• ISSN: 2193-8245; 2193-6528
• DOI: 10.1007/s40123-024-01051-5

Introduction Our aim in this work was to investigate the macular choroidal thickness (ChT) changes in 6–12-year-old Danish children with myopia during 2 years of low-dose atropine treatment and 1-year wash-out vs. placebo in an investigator-initiated, placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized clinical trial. Methods Ninety-seven participants were randomized to either 0.01% for 2 years, 0.1% loading dose for 6 months followed by 0.01% for 18 months, or placebo, then a 1-year wash-out. The primary outcome was ChT in the sub-foveal and inner and outer superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal sectors. The secondary outcome was axial length (AL). Outcomes were measured at baseline and 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. One-way analysis of variance was used to detect baseline ChT differences between AL-stratified groups ( 25 mm). To determine the longitudinal changes in ChT and its effect on AL, all eyes were included in linear mixed modeling with individual eyes nested in the study ID as a random effect. Results Longer eyes had significantly thinner ChT in all choroidal sectors (adj- P