Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the short-term changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) of normal and glaucomatous eyes with posture change.
Methods: :
60 glaucomatous patients (15 untreated (UG), 15 with topical beta-blockers (Bb), 15 with prostaglandins (Pg), 15 with a B-Pg combo), 15 healthy young subjects (<65 years) and 15 healthy aged subjects (> 65 years) were enrolled. Only one eye per patient chosen at random was considered. At the end of a 30 minute period in supine position, baseline IOP values were taken with Perkins tonometer. Patients then sat down and 5 IOP measurements at intervals of 1 minute were taken with I-care tonometer. After 30 minutes patients stood up and 5 measurements were taken at the same time intervals. At each time point, the difference in IOP from baseline was calculated and analysed using t-test.
Results: :
When changing from supine to sitting position, no significant IOP variation was shown except for UG (IOP deflection at minute 2 -6.0 % ± 8.9; P= 0.02 ) and for B-b (IOP deflection at minute 4 -6.0 % ± 8.1 4; P= 0.01 ). When changing from sitting to standing-up position all subjects showed a marked increase in IOP ( +10% after 1 minute) followed by a significant decrease ( +2 - +4%; p< 0.05) with respect to baseline, particularly for B-b (- 2%).
Conclusions: :
Short-term IOP changes due to posture variation represent a further example of IOP fluctuation during every day life style and should be taken into account in the management of glaucoma. They were similar for all study groups except for untreated glaucoma and patients treated with topical beta-blockers.
Keywords: intraocular pressure