Trial reportThe British journal of ophthalmology2026
Effect of low-dose atropine on young premyopic and low-myopic children: atropine treatment of myopia (ATOM3) - a randomised control trial.
Trial report in The British journal of ophthalmology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Biological mechanisms of atropine in myopia control (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Pooled it
- Low-Concentration Atropine (0.01%, 0.025%, 0.05%) for Myopia Progression in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Effect of combining peripheral defocus spectacle lens wear with 0.01% atropine.Annals of translational medicine · 2026Article
- One year results of a pilot study on stepwise defocus incorporated multiple segment spectacle wear for myopia prevention in preschool children with premyopia.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Identifying and Managing Pre-Myopia: A Narrative Review.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimTo evaluate the effectiveness of atropine 0.01% in young premyopic and low-myopic children.
methodsChildren (5-9 years old) with premyopia (spherical equivalent refraction, SER+1.00 to -0.49D, n 156) or low myopia (SER -0.50 to -1.50D, n 52), with at least 1 parent with myopia <-3.00D, were randomised to receive placebo or atropine 0.01% eye-drops in a 1:1 ratio. Cycloplegic autorefraction and axial length were measured every 6 months over 2 years.
resultsMean baseline SER was +0.5+/-0.04D in premyopia and -1.00±0.06D in the low-myopia eyes. Progression over 2 years in premyopic eyes was -0.96±0.10D vs -0.82±0.10D (p=0.328), or 0.72±0.03 mm vs 0.63±0.04 mm (p=0.161) in the placebo and atropine groups, respectively. Progression in eyes remaining emmetropic was -0.43±0.37D vs -0.29±0.37D (p=0.007) or 0.49±0.22 mm vs 0.41±0.38 mm (p=0.209) in the placebo versus atropine-treated eyes, respectively; while eyes which became myopic progressed by -1.78±0.82D vs -1.63±0.82D (p=0.121) or 1.08±0.34 mm vs 0.96±0.14 mm (p=0.010). Incident myopia at 2 years was 42.6% in placebo and 44.8% in atropine 0.01% treated eyes (p=0.896). In the low-myopia group, placebo versus atropine treated eyes progressed by -1.65±0.15D vs -1.23±0.15D (p=0.066) or 0.86±0.07 mm vs 0.68±0.05 mm (p=0.062) at 2 years. There was no difference in near acuity, glare (2.7%) or allergy (6.0%) between treatment groups.
conclusionsAlthough there were no significant differences in myopia progression between atropine and placebo treated eyes, there were trends towards less myopic shift in atropine-treated eyes in premyopic eyes which remained emmetropic and in eyes with low myopia.
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