Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To determine if patients with a documented history of allergy to brimonidine 0.2% may be appropriate candidates for brimonidine Purite® 0.15%. Methods: Open-label prospective evaluation. Included patients (n=10) had a diagnosis of glaucoma, were uncontrolled on current ocular hypotensive therapy, and had a history of allergy to brimonidine 0.2% BID. Patients were treated with brimonidine Purite® 0.15% BID for 8 weeks following washout of any previous ocular hypotensive agents. Study visits were at Baseline and Weeks 1, 4, and 8. Allergic symptoms (redness, tearing, itch, and swelling) were evaluated at each study visit. Patients who experienced an allergic reaction to brimonidine Purite were discontinued from the study. Results: Of the 10 patients enrolled, 5 patients (50%) displayed allergic symptoms by week 4 and exited the study. Three patients (30%) showed no allergic symptoms during 2 months of brimonidine Purite® treatment. One patient was lost to follow-up, and one patient exited the study due to inadequate IOP control. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that at least half of all patients who have had allergic reactions while on brimonidine 0.2% demonstrate ocular allergy with brimonidine Purite® 0.15% soon after initiation of treatment. Therefore, patients who experience ocular allergy with brimonidine 0.2% are not appropriate candidates for brimonidine Purite® therapy. Taken together with the reports of previous clinical trials demonstrating a lower incidence of allergy with brimonidine Purite® 0.15% than brimonidine 0.2%, these findings suggest that brimonidine Purite® 0.15% should be the formulation of choice for initial therapy.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: out • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: ris