Comparison of tropicamide and atropine for refraction test in children

Objective To compare the effects of tropicamide and atropine on children for mydriatic refraction test and to evaluate their value and accuracy.Methods One hundred and twenty-three children(246 eyes) with subnormal visual acuity aged 4～12(8.3± 1.8) were selected.The patients were divided into two groups based on age(4～8 years and 8～12 years).After cycloplegia was applied with tropicamide,autorefraction was performed with a NIDEK AR-600A unit in their initial visit.In the next day visit,an atropine ophthalmic solution was applied three times a day,for three days,when refraction was performed with the same auto-refractor.The results were analyzed with SPSS 11.0 software.Results The average spherical values of tropicamide were more myopic in the myopic children than with atropine.A matched-pairs t-test showed that there was a significant difference(P0.05).The average spherical values of atropine were more hyperopic in hyperopic children than with tropicamide.A matched-pairs t-test showed that there was a significant difference(P0.05).The results for cylinder and axis were not significantly different(P0.05).The average equivalent sphere values for the two age groups were significantly different not only with age,but also with tropicamide and atropine(P 0.05).Conclusion The use of tropicamide for refraction test among children is not an ideal option.Tropicamide cannot replace atropine for refraction test in children.