A micropulse laser treatment can reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) and the number of IOP-lowering medications used by patients with different glaucoma subtypes, according to the results of research published in International Ophthalmology.
Researchers conducted a retrospective case-series study to evaluate the efficacy of micropulse trans-scleral cyclophotocoagulation (MP-TSCPC) treatments in patients with different glaucoma subtypes (narrow angle, pseudoexfoliative, primary open-angle glaucoma, and previous glaucoma surgical) and lens status (pseudophakic or phakic). They assessed IOP and the number of IOP-lowering medications used by the patients treated with MP-TSCPC at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months.
A total of 86 eyes of 75 patients (57.3% women and 42.7% men) were included in the study. The patients in the study had a mean age of 69.7±12.3 years. Their overall mean spherical equivalent (SE) was -4.0±7.8 diopter (D), with a mean SE of -5.7±8.4 D in the pseudophakic eyes and 0.4±1.2 D in the phakic eyes (P <.001).
Continue Reading
All eyes treated with the micropulse laser treatment had a successful outcome, achieving an IOP reduction higher than 20% or a decrease of at least 1 IOP-lowering medication. Across all subgroups, the mean IOP and number of IOP-lowering medications were significantly decreased between the baseline and 12-month visits (P <.001 for all).
The percentage of IOP decrease ranged from 25.9% in the subgroup of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma to 37.5% in the pseudoexfoliative glaucoma subgroup. The team observed no significant difference between the subgroups (P =.20 for glaucoma subtypes and P =0.32 for lens status).
“Good clinical efficacy was observed, achieving the proposed successful goals in all groups, and obtaining a statistically significant improvement considering IOP reduction, as well as a reduction of IOP-lowering medications, for most cases,” the researchers report. “Considering glaucoma subtypes, a greater effect was observed in the pseudoexfoliative glaucoma group, but without a statistically significant difference compared to the others.”
The limitations of the study include its retrospective design and the disparity in the number of cases in the glaucoma subgroups.
Reference
Zanutigh V, Perrone LD, Gómez-Caride G, Perrone F, Valvecchia G, Logioco C. Success rate in micropulse diode laser treatment with regard to lens status, refractive errors, and glaucoma subtypes. Int Ophthalmol. Published online January 30, 2023. doi:10.1007/s10792-023-02640-2.
This article originally appeared on Ophthalmology Advisor
