Abstract
Purpose::
To compare the effectiveness of Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT), in decreasing intraocular pressure (IOP), among patients on four classes of pre-procedure glaucoma monotherapy: prostaglandin (PG), beta-blocker (BB), carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (CAI), or alpha-agonist (AA).
Methods::
A retrospective chart review was performed on 203 eyes out of 1566 eyes, from a consecutive case series of patients treated with SLT over 4 years. ANOVA testing was used to evaluate the mean decrease in IOP among the four groups.
Results::
After SLT, relative mean decrease in IOP was: 26% and 32% for PG and non-PG; 27% and 23% for BB and non-BB; 38% and 20% for CAI and non-CAI, and 37% and 21% for AA and non-AA. Results were significant with p<0.001.
Conclusions::
In this series of patients on pre-procedure glaucoma monotherapy, the effectiveness of SLT to decrease IOP was: greatest with carbonic anhydrase inhibitor or alpha-agonist, followed by beta-blocker, and least with prostaglandin. Further study is required to evaluate higher order interactions seen in combination therapy.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: biostatistics/epidemiology methodology • laser • trabecular meshwork