Epithelial Thickness Mapping Changes In Eyes With Topical Antiglaucoma Therapy

Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy usually  associated with an elevated intraocular pressure  . Since patients with glaucoma often require the long-term use of multiple eyedrops, the possible adverse effects of these drugs on the ocular surface is the main objective of this study that investigates  the changes in corneal epithelium in glaucomatous patients taking into account several parameters such as  age, duration of therapy , mono- or multiple therapies , the type of de molecule used  .

speciality hospital rabat morocco 

Central epithelium thickness CET was measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in 100 eyes of  50 patients  with primary open-angle glaucoma and  50 patients age-matched controls without glaucoma  adopting simple and multiple regression analyses method

Our study showed that  age, use of β-blockers, prostaglandin, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors,  number of therapies either with BAK or preservative free were associated with a thinner epithelium.The mean difference of 6 µm in the central  zone , respectivley  54 ± 3.2 vs. 48 ± 3.6(  p < 0.001) between the glaucomatous patients and the control group .

Use of β-blockers and number of BAK-containing instillations were also associated with a thinner epithelium in the monotherapy subgroup analysis.CET was significantly thinner  in patients with glaucoma receiving topical medications  especially the use of β-blockers, prostaglandin, and benzalkonium chloride (BAK)-containing instillations comparing to the non glaucomatous group 

This  study showed  that the central corneal thickness of patients with glaucoma using  topical medications were smaller and thinner  when compared to those without glaucoma. The risk factors are mainly  the use of β-blockers, prostaglandin, and BAK, and the total number of medications related to the severity of the progression