SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Low-dose atropine for myopia progression in children: a 2017-2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Low-dose atropine (0.01%) eye drops have emerged as a proposed intervention to slow myopic progression in children, but their short-term efficacy remains uncertain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of recent randomized, placebo-controlled trials to assess the efficacy and safety of 0.01% atropine in preventing myopia progression. Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (through October 2024) identified double-blind randomized trials published from 2017 to 2024 that compared atropine 0.01% with placebo in children. Primary outcomes were the changes in refractive error (spherical equivalent) and axial length over at least 1 year. Secondary outcomes included treatment-related adverse events (e.g., photophobia). Data were extracted, pooled using random-effects models, and heterogeneity was assessed (I Results: Nine trials ( Conclusion: At 12 months, 0.01% atropine yields small but statistically significant reductions in the progression of spherical-equivalent refraction and axial elongation, with no statistically significant increase in photophobia versus placebo, although absolute photophobia rates were higher in the atropine group (9.8% vs. 5.9%). Effects are modest and heterogeneous, and the 95% prediction intervals include the null, supporting the need for larger, longer-term trials to define the durability and clinical relevance of these findings. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42024583729.
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