July 26, 2021
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The American Optometric Association (AOA) released a new clinical report on myopia management that was developed by its Evidence-Based Myopia Management Clinical Report Task Force.
“Doctors of optometry continue to play a primary role in diagnosis, clinical management, and treatment of this increasing public health threat,” the report’s authors write. “Expanded myopia management services will be needed beyond the correction of myopic refractive error with current commonly prescribed spectacles or contact lenses for distance vision correction only. This report presents the current clinical evidence from published studies on the efficacy and application of myopia management procedures. It reviews evidence and provides guidance on the use of several currently available options for controlling myopia development in children: atropine, multifocal soft contact lenses, orthokeratology with rigid gas permeable contact lenses, multifocal spectacle lenses, and behavioral modifications.”
The clinical report builds on the AOA’s heightened focus in 2021 on children’s eye health and vision care, especially during the pandemic, which has created greater leisure time and schooling online for young people, raising concerns over extended screen time and its impact on their eye and vision health. Among its contents are sections on classification of myopia, complications associated with myopia, risk factors for development and progression of myopia, tests and equipment/instrumentation needed for myopia management, and elements of follow-up care.
“We hope this report will not only serve pure clinical needs but also serve as a call to action for doctors of optometry to fully serve the many patients with myopia within our practices,” said Carl Urbanski, OD, Chair of the AOA Evidence-Based Optometry Committee. “The opportunity to slow the rate of progression and lower the risk for the development of sight-threatening conditions later in life should not be understated.”
