Some Aspects of Prescribing Treatment for Children with Myopia and Excessive Tension of Accomodation in the Practice of the Ophthalmologist of the Outpatient Clinic

Purpose. To study the preferences of ophthalmologists in the implementation of therapeutic and diagnostic measures in children with myopia and habitually excessive tension of accommodation (HETA) as part of a routine clinical practice. Material and methods. The study was conducted based on outpatient ophthalmologists’ offices. The analysis involved 64 medical questionnaires received from 32 doctors from 23 cities of Russia (2 questionnaires of the same type were filled in, each for 20 patients) and information about 1280 clinical cases of myopia or habitually excessive tension of accommodation, documented in the medical records of children aged 5 to 17 years, diagnosed with myopia (863 children, 67.4% of the surveyed) or habitually excessive tension of accommodation (417 children, 32.6%). Data was sourced from medical treatment records and a survey of doctors’ opinions. Results. In the structure of juvenile myopia, the most commonly observed degrees are mild (49.36%) and moderate (37.31%). The recentness of myopia is proportional to its degree. Most often, for treating juvenile myopia and HETA, doctors combine a drug therapy aimed at improving accommodation (96.5%) with functional methods of treatment. Phenylephrine hydrochloride preparations such as Irifrin® and Irifrin® BK (28.44 and 33.13%, respectively), as well as the combined preparation Midrimax® (36.41%) were most often used as drug therapy. To improve accommodation, ophthalmologists of outpatient clinics more often prescribe a one-month course of drug instillations, and 50% of the respondents undergo it twice a year. However, the number of patients who rated the degree of satisfaction and adherence to therapy as high and very high turned out to be higher in cases when such courses were underwent 4 times a year, compared with the group of patients who underwent them 2 times a year. Conclusion. Convenience of use of Irifrin®, Irifrin® BK and Midrimax® drugs, combined with their availability, make it possible to recommend them for a wide clinical use – treatment of patients with myopia and habitually excessive tension of accommodation.