PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence of ocular surface complaints in Brazilian patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension who used topical intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering regimens. METHODS: In this multicenter, noninterventional, single-visit study, adults with glaucoma or ocular hypertension treated with an IOP-lowering regimen were administered the 12-item ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire. Each response was scored on a 5-point scale, with 0 indicating symptom present none of the time and 4 indicating symptom present all of the time. The average of the 12 item responses for each patient was transformed to a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing worse disabilities. OSDI results then were categorized as absence of OSD (scores of 0-12), mild OSD (scores of 13-22), moderate OSD (scores of 23-32), or severe OSD (scores of 33100). RESULTS: The 173 enrolled patients had a mean age of 61.2 years, were women in 65.3% of cases, and had glaucoma in 89.0% of cases and ocular hypertension in 11.0% of cases. OSDI scores for 158 patients using 1 IOP-lowering therapy indicated no OSD in 37.3% of patients (59/158), mild OSD in 20.9% (33/158), moderate OSD in 17.1% (27/158), and severe OSD in 24.7% (39/158). For the 120 patients using 1 IOP-lowering medication and having a known duration of diagnosis of glaucoma or ocular hypertension, mean OSDI scores were numerically higher (worse) for the 39 patients with a diagnosis ≥6 years long (score 25 [± 20], indicating moderate OSD) than for the 81 patients with a diagnosis lasting <6 years (score 22 [± 20], indicating mild OSD); however, no significant differences in OSDI scores by duration of diagnosis were evident in means (P=0.49), distributions (P≥0.26), or correlation (P=0.77). CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of Brazilian patients treated with 1 IOP-lowering therapy had some ocular surface complaints.
Glaucoma; Ocular hypertension; Dry eye syndromes; Preservatives, pharmaceutical; Brazil
