Use Pattern of Ophthalmic Antiglaucoma Agents with and Without Preservatives: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Different drugs have been approved to reduce the intraocular pressure. However, most of them contain preservatives to maintain sterility and these can be toxic to the ocular surface. The aim was to determine the patterns of use of antiglaucoma agents and ophthalmic preservatives in a group of patients from Colombia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study that identified ophthalmic antiglaucoma agents from a population database of 9.2 million. Sociodemographic and pharmacological variables were considered. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed.

Results: A total of 38,262 patients were identified, with a mean age of 69.2 ± 13.3 years, and 58.6% were women. A total of 98.8% were prescribed antiglaucoma drugs in multidose containers. The most widely used were prostaglandin analogs (59.9%), especially latanoprost (51.6%) and β-blockers (59.2%). A total of 54.7% of patients received combined management, especially with fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs (41.3%). A total of 94.1% used antiglaucoma drugs with preservatives (benzalkonium chloride, 68.4%).

Conclusions: The pharmacological treatment of glaucoma was very heterogeneous, but the most commonly used therapeutic groups were in accordance with the recommendations of clinical practice guidelines but with differences by sex and age. Most of the patients were exposed to preservatives, especially benzalkonium chloride, but the wide use of FDC drugs can minimize toxicity on the ocular surface.