Abstract
Purpose:
Patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) were shown to have a stronger ocular hypertensive response to steroids than healthy controls. Although a clinically significant intraocular pressure (IOP) rise might be expected in patients with CTD on high-dose systemic corticosteroid therapy, the effects of low-dose therapy remain unknown. The authors aimed to assess whether low-dose chronic systemic corticosteroid therapy for CTD has clinically significant ocular hypertensive effects.
Methods:
In this observational controlled study, 86 patients with CTD were grouped according to corticosteroid therapy. Group 1 was comprised of patients with CTD on use of low- dose oral corticosteroid for at least 6 months and group 2 included CTD patients without use of corticosteroid therapy. Group 3 was comprised of healthy controls. Low-dose was defined as a daily dosage up to 10mg of prednisone or its equivalent. The main outcomes were IOP and diagnosis of glaucoma.
Results:
In all the 3 groups, the IOP were within the normal range. The mean IOP was 13.1 ± 2.7 mmHg in CTD corticosteroid group (Group 1); 13.7 ± 2.7 mmHg in CTD group without corticosteroid therapy (Group 2); and 13.1 ± 1.6 mmHg in control group (Group 3). No significant differences in IOP were observed between the 3 groups (P= 0.50) Furthermore, no significant differences were found in terms of prevalence of glaucoma (15% in Group 1; 14% in Group 2; and 5% in Group 3; P= 0.54).
Conclusions:
Low-dose systemic corticosteroid therapy has no clinically significant ocular hypertensive effects in patients with CTD.
Keywords: 487 corticosteroids •
568 intraocular pressure •
461 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: natural history