Abstract: Objective To investigate the efficacy of different administration of 1% atropine gel on the myopia progression in adolescents with low myipia. Design Prospective comparative case series. Participants 150 cases (300 eyes) myopic children between 9 to 12 years old, who visited to optometry clinic in Ningbo Eye Hospital between January 2011 and April 2011, whose diopters were -0.50 to -1.50 DS. Methods 150 cases were divided randomly into three groups (50 cases in each group). Control group: used 1% atropine gel one time every night. Group B: twice a week. Group C: one time every week. All the participants were followed up for two years with return visiting every three months. Main Outcome Measures Visual acuity, refraction, intraocular pressure, the axial length of the eyes. Results 133 children completed the two-year follow-up, in which 38 cases in the group A, 47 cases in the group B, and 48 cases in the group C. The dropout rate was 11.3%. After treatment, the myopia diopter progression in the group A, B, and C was (-0.33±0.11) D, (-0.36 ± 0.13) D, and (-0.62 ± 0.30) D, respectively. The axial growth was (0.32 ± 0.08) mm, (0.33 ± 0.10) mm, and (0.48 ± 0.17) mm, respectively. The changes of the spherical diopter and axis length between group A and group B were not different significantly (all P>0.05). Compared with group A and B, the visual acuity was declined, the diopter was increased, and the axis length got longer in the group C (all P<0.05). Conclusion Persistent use of 1% atropine eye gel can control effectively the myopia progression in adolescents with low myopia. There is no significant difference between the administration of every day and twice every week. Two times a week medication is more tolerance, which is more suitable for administration. (Ophthalmol CHN, 2014, 23: 111-114)

Key words: myopia, atropine