Assessment of myopic rebound effect after discontinuation of treatment with 0.01% atropine eye drops in Japanese school-age children.

Purpose: Having previously demonstrated the efficacy of 0.01% atropine eye drops for inhibiting progression of childhood myopia, we conducted additional analyses to assess post-treatment changes in myopia progression.

Study Design: Analysis of follow-up data from a previously reported randomized controlled trial METHODS: A mixed-effects model was used to compare intergroup changes in spherical equivalent (SE) and axial length (AL) at 1 month and 12 months after discontinuation of 2-year treatment with atropine or placebo in 167 school-age children.

Results: Follow-up measurements were available for 149 participants at 1 month after discontinuation of treatment and for 51 participants at 12 months after discontinuation. At 1 month post-treatment, differences between the atropine and placebo groups in least squares (LS) mean changes in SE and AL, respectively, from 24 months were -0.06 diopters (D) (95% CI: -0.21, 0.08; P = .39) and 0.02 mm (95% CI: -0.05, 0.08; P = .60). At 12 months post-treatment, intergroup differences (atropine vs placebo) in LS mean changes in SE and AL, respectively, were -0.13 D (95% CI: -0.35, 0.10; P = .26) and -0.02 mm (95% CI: -0.12, 0.09; P = .75). LS mean changes in SE and AL from treatment discontinuation did not differ between the groups at 1 or 12 months post-treatment.

Conclusion: Axial elongation was significantly less in the atropine group than in the placebo group. The suppression effect obtained at 2 years was maintained after 12 months. The absence of intergroup differences in myopia progression since treatment cessation suggests that myopic rebound did not occur.