Purpose:
To evaluate the long-term relationship between selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) treatment energy and intraocular pressure response in patients with glaucoma.
Methods:
A retrospective review was done of all patients receiving 360 degrees primary SLT therapy between December 2006 and July 2010. Patients with prior history of laser trabeculoplasty or incisional glaucoma surgery were excluded. The patient demographics and energy settings (number of applications, energy per application, and total energy) were recorded at the time of laser therapy. The IOP and number of medications were collected at baseline, 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 years. End points included additional laser therapy and glaucoma surgery. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine whether there was a significant correlation at 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 years. Statistical significance was set at p<0.01 at each individual time point to achieve an overall significance of p<0.05 using the Bonferroni correction.
Results:
A total of 69 eyes qualified for inclusion. IOP reductions from baseline were significant at all time points. There was no significant change in glaucoma medications from baseline at any time point. Mean total SLT energy was 93.73 mJ (SD=21.83 mJ, range 34.4-122 mJ). Correlations between total energy and percent IOP change at all time points were small yet significant (Table 1).
Conclusions:
SLT was effective in reducing IOP in this cohort of patients. There was a significant yet small correlation between SLT TE and percent IOP reduction at 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 years. This study identified a long-term significant modest dose-response with SLT that warrants further study to better identify optimal energy parameters.
Keywords: laser • intraocular pressure • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications