Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a single session of micropulse laser trabeculoplasty (MLT) to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEXG).
Methods: In this single-center, one-arm, prospective study patients with PEXG under prostaglandine analogue monotherapy with inadequate IOP control were treated with 360° 532-nm MLT. Patients were evaluated at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months post-MLT while they were treated with the same drug regimen as pre-MLT. Mean IOP reduction and percentage of IOP change during the follow-up were calculated. Cases that required any further intervention, like additional hypotensive medication, laser or surgical therapy, throughout the study period were considered failures and removed from the study.
Results: Twenty-seven eyes (27 patients, 17 male) were included in the study. The age of the patients was 72.37 ± 6.29 years and the baseline IOP was 20.41 ± 1.87 mmHg. Treatment with MLT resulted in significantly lower IOP at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after MLT compared to baseline (p < 0.0001 for all comparisons). By the end of the study, 52.17% of the PEXG eyes demonstrated a ≥ 20% IOP reduction compared to baseline. Four eyes (14.81%) did not respond to MLT (three eyes at 3 months and one eye at 6 months after trabeculoplasty) and were considered failures since they required additional intervention.
Conclusions: Micropulse laser trabeculoplasty appears to be an effective method to lower IOP in patients with PEXG up to 12 month of follow-up period.
Trial registration: The study is registered on www.ClinicalTrials.gov with registration number NCT03483402.
Keywords: Intraocular pressure; Micropulse laser; Pseudoexfoliation glaucoma; Trabeculoplasty.