Abstract
Purpose :
To measure the effect of 15-min exposure of the peripheral blood flow at the nailfold of the 4th finger to latanoprostene bunod (LTB) using nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) in patients with pigmentary glaucoma (PG).
Methods :
Eleven patients with PG who were not using LTB ophthalmic solution to control IOP were recruited from 6/2017 to 11/2018. Nailfold capillaroscopy (BK-XW880, Biobase, Biodustry, Shandong Co. Ltd, China) was performed on the 4th finger of the non-dominant hand of all patients at baseline. A rubber well was fixed by adhesive tape on the nailfold of the examined finger of patients and 2 drops of LTB were put in the well. After 15 minutes, the well was removed and the nailfold was cleansed and draped. A subsequent NFC was done to measure the nailfold blood flow. Blood flow was calculated using commercially available software (VideoPad, NCH Software, Inc. CO, USA; ImageJ, NIH, USA). The change in blood flow was calculated as the mean ± SD. A paired Student t-test was used to find the significance of the difference between the mean of the baseline blood flow vs. post-LTB application.
Results :
In all patients, the nailfold capillary blood flow increased following the application of 15-min of LTB (761.0 ± 380 picoliters/sec vs. 1093 ± 447 picoliters/sec). The difference between pre- and post-LTB application in blood flow was statistically significant (mean 51.6%; p=0.0377)
Conclusions :
LTB applied topically on the nailfold can reach sufficient concentration to increase capillary blood flow in PG patients. Increased blood flow is a potential non-IOP-lowering mechanism by which LTB could improve ocular perfusion. Future studies with greater numbers of patients together with measurement of blood flow in the retinal vasculature are needed.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.