Thursday, February 14, 2013

Study suggests that young children may benefit from early orthokeratology treatment

The results of the "Retardation of myopia in Orthokeratology" (ROMIO) study were published in October 2012 in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. The study was a two-year randomized clinical trial by researchers at the School of Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The goal of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of orthokeratology (ortho-k) for myopic control in children.

The study examined 102 patients ranging in age from 6 to 10 years, with myopia between 0.50 and 4.00 diopters  and astigmatism not more than 1.25 diopters, who were randomly assigned to wear overnight orthokeratology lens retainers or single-vision glasses for a period of 2 years. Axial length - a key measurement of myopia -  was measured by intraocular lens calculation by a masked examiner.  Measurements of the kids' eyes were taken at baseline and then every six months.  

The researchers concluded that, on average, subjects wearing ortho-k lenses had a slower increase in axial elongation (a key marker of myopia progression) by 43% compared with that of subjects wearing single-vision glasses. The authors noted that younger children tended to have faster axial elongation and may benefit from early ortho-k treatment.