The treatment of myopia with atropine and bifocals. A long-term prospective study.

Two hundred fifty-three patients were followed for up to nine years (mean, 4 1/4 years). They were on a regimen of atropine 1% once a day in an attempt to retard myopic progression. Their rate of myopic progression prior to atropine treatment was compared with 146 controls. The rates of myopic progression during and after treatment were also compared to those of the controls. The results from several analyses showed a marked flattening in the rate of myopic progression during treatment, and the rate of myopic progression after treatment ran parallel to those in the control group. Age in relation to myopic progression was evaluated in subgroups. A variation existed in the rate of myopic progression in the controls. The fastest rate of myopic progression occurred between eight and 12 years of age, and the slowest rate of myopic progression developed in those patients over 18 years of age.