B767/864

The Efficacy and Safety of Pneumotrabeculoplasty: Results of a 6-Month, Multicenter Study

Sunday, May 06, 2007, 2:30 PM - 4:15 PM

Hall B/C

201 glaucoma:trabecularmeshwork - GL

P.Fogagnolo¹, L.Rossetti², M.Marraffa³, M.Rolando⁴, M.Ciancaglini⁵, G.Marchini³, G.Calabria⁴, L.Mastropasqua⁵, N.Orzalesi². ¹G.B. Bietti Foundation for the Study and Research in Ophthalmology, IRCCS, Rome, Italy; ²Eye Clinic, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Odontoiatry, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; ³Eye Clinic, Department of Neurological and Vision Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; ⁴Department of Ophthalmology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; ⁵Ophthalmic Clinic, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.

564 intraocular pressure,724 trabecular meshwork,

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of pneumotrabeculoplasty (PNT) in ocular hypertensive (OHT) and glaucoma (POAG) patients.
Methods: This study included 35 patients of 4 Italian academic centers with diagnosis of OHT or POAG and intraocular pressure (IOP) ranging between 20 and 25 mmHg under treatment. Exclusion criteria were: severe glaucoma (mean defect worse than 12 dB), past intraocular surgery or inflammation, corneal or conjunctival abnormalities, any retinopathy. Patients underwent screening (-1 day) and baseline visits (day 0) and visits at days 1, 7, 8, 14, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180; PNT was performed in a randomized eye at day 0 and 7. Safety was addressed at all visits by means of ophthalmic examination and questionnaire; an IOP curve (at 8 and 10 am, noon and 2 pm) was measured at days -1, 60, 120, 180.
Results: In PNT-eyes, IOP at day 0 was 19.9 ± 2.8 mmHg; after PNT, a statistically significant reduction of IOP occurred at all visits. At days 60, 120, 180, IOP was 17.7 ± 5.2, 18.6 ± 3.9 and 18.9 ± 1.3 mmHg (P = 0.001; 0.005; 0.009 respectively). The rate of non-responder (IOP decrease < 5%) to PNT at 6 months was 9/35 (25%) and the mean IOP decrease was 13.8 ± 7.5%. Side effects occurred in 21/35 (60%) patients and included: foreign body sensation (16/35), conjunctival hyperaemia (9), blurred vision (8). All symptoms were mild, with a mean duration of 2 days (range: 30 minutes - 14 days).
Conclusion: In this small group of patients, PNT treatment reduced IOP of about 14% over a 6-month interval. Mild side effects were common (60%), but no serious side effects occurred. PNT seems an effective and safe procedure for treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, although confirmation by studies with longer follow-up and larger sample size is mandatory.

 P. Fogagnolo, None; L. Rossetti, None; M. Marraffa, None; M. Rolando, None; M. Ciancaglini, None; G. Marchini, None; G. Calabria, None; L. Mastropasqua, None; N. Orzalesi, None.

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