| Summary: | Lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) is the only clinically established method of treating glaucoma, and the Canadian Ophthalmological Society's clinical practice guidelines for glaucoma recommend an initial target IOP based on the severity of glaucoma, to be modified based on patients' age, life expectancy, quality of life, and risk factors for progression. Pharmacologic therapy is the most common method of lowering IOP, and the most common first-line therapy in Canada is topical prostaglandin analogues (PGAs), including latanoprost. Since patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) require lifetime therapy, they are at greater risk of ocular surface disease (OSD), which is associated with the long-term use of topical ophthalmic antiglaucoma medications. Patients with OSD may experience dry eye or sensations of burning, stinging, itching, or discomfort in the eye. Preservatives in topical ophthalmic solutions, of which the most common is benzalkonium chloride (BAK), have been implicated in OSD. Glaucoma medical therapy is often characterized by nonadherence, and the availability of preservative-free PGAs would address an unmet need for patients who do not tolerate preserved PGAs well. The objective of this report is to perform a systematic review of the beneficial and harmful effects of preservative-free latanoprost 50 g/mL ophthalmic solution (Monoprost) for the reduction of IOP in patients with OAG or ocular hypertension
|
|---|