The efficacy of 0.2% brimonidine for preventing intraocular pressure rise following argon laser trabeculoplasty.

Ma,  Y R; Lee,  B H; Yang,  K J; Park,  Y G

doi:1999.13.2.78

Korean J Ophthalmol > Volume 13(2); 1999 > Article

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Korean Journal of Ophthalmology 1999;13(2):78-84.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.1999.13.2.78 Published online December 30, 1999.

The efficacy of 0.2% brimonidine for preventing intraocular pressure rise following argon laser trabeculoplasty.

Y R Ma, B H Lee, K J Yang, Y G Park

Department of Ophthalmology, Chonnam University Medical School, Kwangju, Korea.

Abstract

Brimonidine tartrate of 0.5% was identified as the most effective and safe dose for acute intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering. The efficacy of brimonidine tartrate 0.2% in preventing IOP elevation after an argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) was evaluated. Eighty patients were selected for a randomized, prospective study. Each patient was assigned to one of four treatment regimens: (1) brimonidine before and after ALT(B/B), (2) brimonidine before and placebo after ALT(B/P), (3) placebo before and brimonidine after ALT(P/B), (4) placebo before and after ALT(P/P). IOP elevation of 5 mmHg or greater occurred in 3.3% (2/60) of brimonidine-treated patients and in 30% (6/20) of placebo-treated patients. There was a mean decrease of IOP from baseline during the first 3 hours after ALT in all brimonidine-treated groups (7.1 +/- 3.4, 6.2 +/- 4.4, 3.5 +/- 2.9 mmHg for the B/B, B/P, P/B groups), but no change of mean IOP in the Placebo-treated group. Only one drop of brimonidine tartrate of 0.2% installed either before or after ALT was sufficient to prevent post-ALT IOP spike and minimize the undesired systemic adverse effects that two drop installation can produce.