Title | Hypotensive efficacy of selective versus argon laser trabeculoplasty |
Abstract Nr. | A2048 |
Purpose | To compare selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) with conventional argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) in terms of their efficiency in lowering the intra-ocular pressure. |
Methods | In this retrospective study, 56 eyes from 44 patients with primary open angle glaucoma, ocular hypertension, pseudo-exfoliative or pigment dispersion glaucoma (PDG) were included. Patients underwent either ALT (n=38) or SLT (n=18). The intra-ocular pressure (IOP) was measured the day of laser treatment and 2 to 6 weeks after therapy. A student’s t-test was used for statistical analysis. |
Results | At the short-term follow-up (2-6 weeks), there was a non-significant trend towards more IOP-reduction after ALT: 22.46% versus 16% after SLT (P= 0.2467). Of note, of the four patients with PDG that were included, 2 underwent ALT and 2 SLT. Remarkably, both patients who had SLT showed a paradoxical rise in IOP of 13 and 18% respectively after the procedure. This occurred in the absence of intra-ocular inflammation or steroid treatment and it persisted until 12 weeks after treatment. When these patients were excluded from the analysis, a similar hypotensive efficacy was found between ALT (19%) and SLT (18%). There was no influence of anti-inflammatory medication (dexamethasone versus sodium flurbiprofen), status of the lens (phacic or pseudophacic) or effector (three physicians) on the efficacy of the LTP. |
Conclusion | The short term efficacy of ALT and SLT was similar. In this study, the two patients with PDG that underwent SLT showed a paradoxical rise in IOP. This finding merits more attention in a larger scale study on the effect of ALT versus SLT in this type of glaucoma. |
Last name | VAN DE VEIRE |
Initials | S |
Department | KUL |
City | Leuven |
Last name | ZEYEN |
Initials | T |
Department | AZM |
City | Antwerpen |
Last name | Stalmans |
Initials | I |
Department | KUL |
City | Leuven |