the Effect of Low-Concentration Atropine Combined With Auricular Acupoint Stimulation in Myopia Control

Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation

Status: Completed

Conditions: Myopia

Treatments: Drug: Atropine; Device: auricular acupoint stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02055378

99-IRB-032-XD

Details and patient eligibility

About

To compare the effect of myopia control between patients treated with low-concentration atropine eye drops combined with auricular acupoint stimulation and those treated with atropine alone.

Full description

Myopia has been an increasing problem among school children, especially in Asian countries. High myopia is not only a refractive problem, but also a disease that can result in a number of sight-threatening complications such as macular degeneration, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and cataract. Atropine is a long-acting non-selective muscarinic antagonist that blocks accommodation by paralyzing ciliary muscles; it may affect remodeling of the sclera and suppress the elongation of axial length. Acupuncture and acupressure have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Auricular acupoint stimulation by acupuncture or acupressure has been reported to improve visual acuity in myopic patients. Therefore, we want to compare the effect of myopia control between patients treated with low-concentration atropine eye drops combined with auricular acupoint stimulation and those who treated with atropine alone.

Enrollment: 73 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 6 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Children aged from 6 to 12 years with myopia, defined as spherical equivalent (SE) of -0.5 diopter (D) or less, were recruited from the outpatient clinics from January 2011 to June 2012.

Exclusion criteria

• (1) abnormal IOP (>21 mmHg) at presentation, (2) astigmatism or anisometropia of more than 1.5 D, (3) amblyopia or strabismus, (4) the presence of any related eyelid diseases, ocular diseases, or auricular diseases, (5) the presence of hemostatic disorders or other related major systemic diseases, (6) history of allergy to atropine, (7) previous or current use of contact lenses, bifocals, progressive lenses, or other forms of treatment for myopia.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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73 participants in 2 patient groups

auricular acupoint stimulation

Experimental group

Description:

Five auricular acupoints were selected for taping stimulation by using a 1-mm alloy ball by fingers three times a day, each time for five minutes over the five selected acupoints. Topical 0.125% atropine was given nightly.

Treatment:

Device: auricular acupoint stimulation

Drug: Atropine

Atropine

Active Comparator group

Description:

topical 0.125% atropine was given nightly during the study period.

Treatment:

Drug: Atropine