Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine the pressure lowering cross-over effect of Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) on the untreated eye.
Methods: :
A retrospective chart review was conducted to identify patients who received SLT treatment. Excluded were patients with incomplete follow-up, no light perception vision in the untreated eye, and those with juvenile open angle glaucoma. Statistical analysis was performed using pearson correlation, ANOVA, and paired two-tailed t-test.
Results: :
100 of 175 consecutive patients met the inclusion criteria for the study. Mean age at the time of SLT was 69.0±12.6 years. Seventy percent of patients were women and the majority were African American (94%). Mean follow-up was 27.6±14.6 months. At baseline, the treated eyes were significantly more likely than the untreated eyes to have higher maximum intraocular pressure (IOP) 24.59±5 mmHg vs. 20.19±5 mmHg respectively, (p<0.001), average IOP over the prior three visits 20.36±3 vs. 17.36±4 (p<0.001), larger cup to disc ratio 0.86±0.11 vs. 0.81±0.14 (p<0.001), and be on a greater number of medications 2.13±1 vs. 1.68±1 (p<0.001). Forty-nine percent of patients had no prior glaucoma laser or surgery in either eye. There was a significant reduction in IOP following SLT from baseline three visit average of 17.3±4 mm Hg in the untreated study eyes by -11.7±19% at 2 months (p<0.001), -5.8±25% (p<0.026) at six, and -4.0±18% (p<0.039) at twelve months. The degree of IOP decrease correlated strongly between the treated and the study eye at each time point (p<0.0001, see Figure).
Keywords: trabecular meshwork • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled clinical trials • intraocular pressure