Study title

Trial of SLT laser treatment versus prostaglandine in the treatment of POAG

Type

Retrospective

Number of patients

128

Primery investigator

E. Ansari

Secondary investigators

Contact informaion

eaansari@aol.com

Place

The Eye Ear and Mouth Unit (EEMU), Maidstone Hospital

Town

Maidstone 

Country

England

Start date

Expected completion date

Expected publication date

Purpose

SLT as in as initial treatment

method

Patients were recruited from general and glaucoma clinics at Maidstone Hospital and Pembury Hospital. The indications for treatment were:
• POAG requiring further IOP reduction to target level
• POAG patients developing drop intolerance
• POAG patients opting against filtering surgery
Patients with primary angle closure and inflammatory glaucoma were excluded.
All patients received SLT treatment with the Laserex Tango machine (Haag-Streit, UK), treatment being applied over 360 degrees with a mean 108 applications (range 90-120), power 0.5-1.1mJ depending on the degree of trabecular pigmentation.
Follow-up was arranged at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months post-treatment.
Success was regarded as reaching the target IOP with or without reduction in topical medications.

Preliminary Results

A total of 128 patients (137 eyes) were treated. SLT produced a statistically significant reduction of IOP at each follow up point (p<0.05). The mean IOP reduction at 3 months was 4.6mmHg (24% reduction) compared to baseline. All patients reached the desired target IOP; 80% of patients had a subsequent reduction in the number of drops taken for glaucoma. 8 patients (29%) reported some mild discomfort, but this was temporary, lasting less than 24 hours.

Conclusion