Low concentration atropine combined with orthokeratology in the treatment of axial elongation in children with myopia: A meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate the effect of low concentration atropine combined with Orthokeratology (OK) lens compared with the OK lens on the changes of axial length in children with moderate and low myopia by meta-analysis. Methods: Databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library were comprehensively searched to collect related studies on atropine combined with the OK lens in the treatment of children with moderate and low myopia. The retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to December 2020. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were selected as the effect to analyze the changes of the axial length of the eye axis in children with low and moderate myopia treated with low concentration atropine combined with OK lens. Results: A total of eight articles were included in this study. Compared with OK lens treatment, low concentration atropine combined with the OK lens significantly slowed down the axial elongation of low and moderate myopia, SMD = -0.68(95% CI: -0.86--0.50, p < 0.05). According to the subgroup analysis of treatment time, when the treatment time was less than or equal to 6 months, SMD = -0.63(95% CI: -0.88--0.37, p < 0.05), when the treatment time was 1 year, SMD = -0.76(95% CI: -1.08--0.43, p < 0.05), and when the treatment time was 2 years, SMD = -0.69(95% CI: -1.07--0.31, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Low concentration atropine combined with the OK lens is more effective than the OK lens in the treatment of children with low to moderate myopia in reducing axial elongation.