Ophthalmologist Acceptance Of Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty As A First Line Treatment For Glaucoma In Saudi Arabia

Published 2022 - 40th Congress of the ESCRS

Reference: PE021 | Type: ESONT - Abstract | DOI: 10.82333/0wr6-nz40

Authors: Manal Alwazae*, Atheer Alhumud ¹ , Shrouq Sarhan ² , Leyla Aljassim ¹

¹Ophthalmology,King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, ²Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

Purpose

•To evaluate the acceptance, among Saudi ophthalmologists, to use SLT as a first-line (primary or initial) treatment for glaucoma.

Setting/Venue

Saudi Arabia

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study enrolled 128 ophthalmologists (glaucoma specialist and non glaucoma specialist) who practice in Saudi Arabia. A structured online questionnaire was used for data collection. It evaluated sociodemographic data, current glaucoma practice, technology acceptance model (TAM) and potential barriers to incorporating SLT as the primary treatment for glaucoma.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 40±9.6 years, and 65.6% were males. Almost

one-third were glaucoma specialists. The majority (96.1%) used

medical treatment as the initial therapy, 72.7% agreed that SLT is safe and 59.4% agreed that it

rapidly controls intraocular pressure. Almost half of participants were willing to use SLT as the

primary treatment, however, only 42.2% considered themselves experienced enough to do so.

The most reported barriers were inadequate training, non-availability of a SLT and low efficacy

reported by 47.7%, 41.4% and 27.3% of participants, respectively.

Conclusions

Despite the good overall acceptance of SLT, the majority are still using medical therapy as the primary treatment. The outcomes of this study indicate that Saudi ophthalmologists require more training to effectively implementing this modality into their practices.