Outcomes of Resident Performed Hydrus, iStent, and Kahook Glaucoma Procedures in a Predominantly African American Population.

PRCIS: This retrospective study characterized the efficacy and safety of 3 different microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) procedures in a predominantly African American population at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Hospital (Hydrus, Kahook, iStent), demonstrating no significant difference in intraocular pressure (IOP) and medication reduction between the 3 at long-term follow-up. PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of 3 different MIGS procedures in a predominantly African American population. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing cataract extraction combined with 1 of 3 MIGS procedures (Hydrus, iStent, Kahook) at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center between January 1, 2015 and November 1, 2020. Analysis of variance and regression models were used to compare reduction in IOP and medication use among 3 MIGS types. RESULTS: A total of 123 eyes of 112 patients were included, including 56 (45.5%) eyes for Hydrus, 40 (32.5%) eyes for iStent, and 27 (22.0%) eyes for Kahook. Adjusted mean IOP reduction was greater for Hydrus at postoperative day 1 (-4.49 vs. -1.76 for iStent and -1.69 for Kahook, P=0.05 and greater for Kahook at postoperative week 1 (-2.53 vs. +0.70 for iStent vs. -1.41 for Hydrus, P=0.02), but did not differ significantly between MIGS types at subsequent postoperative visits (all P>0.05). In multivariable analysis, MIGS type was not significantly associated with reduction in IOP or medication use at 9 to 12 months postoperatively. There were no significant differences in complication rates across MIGS types. CONCLUSION: In this study, the difference in IOP lowering and medication reduction postoperatively between the Hydrus, iStent, and Kahook was not statistically significant after postoperative day 1. More studies are needed to evaluate outcomes of MIGS surgeries in glaucoma populations of different disease severity.

The utility of the monocular trial: data from the ocular hypertension treatment study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether adjusting the intraocular pressure (IOP) change of the trial eye for the IOP change of the fellow eye (i.e., monocular trial) is a better assessment of medication response than testing each eye independently. DESIGN: Analysis of data from a prospective, randomized, clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred six participants with ocular hypertension randomized to the observation group and later started on a topical prostaglandin analog (PGA). METHODS: Participants were started on a topical PGA in 1 eye and returned in approximately 1 month to determine medication response. The IOP response of the trial eye was determined by the IOP change between baseline and 1 month in the trial eye alone (unadjusted method) and by adjusting for the IOP change in the fellow eye between the same visits (adjusted method). Our "gold standard" for medication response was the IOP change in the trial eye between up to 3 pre- and 3 posttreatment visits on the same medication. Pearson correlation was used to compare the gold standard with the unadjusted and adjusted methods. In addition, symmetry of IOP response between trial and fellow eyes to the same medication was determined by correlating the trial eye IOP change between up to 3 pre- and 3 posttreatment visits to the fellow eye IOP change between the same visits. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Correlations of IOP change of the trial eye using the gold standard to the IOP change of the trial eye using the unadjusted and adjusted methods. RESULTS: The correlations of IOP change using the gold standard to the IOP change using the unadjusted and adjusted methods were r = 0.40 and r = 0.41, respectively. The correlation of IOP change of both eyes between the same pre- and posttreatment visits was r = 0.81. CONCLUSIONS: The monocular trial (i.e., adjusted method) appears equivalent to testing each eye independently (i.e., unadjusted method); however, neither method is adequate to determine medication response to topical PGAs. Both eyes have a similar IOP response to the same PGA. Further studies to understand IOP fluctuation are necessary to improve current methods of assessing medication response. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.

Utility of digital stereo images for optic disc evaluation.

PURPOSE: To assess the suitability of digital stereo images for optic disc evaluations in glaucoma. METHODS: Stereo color optic disc images in both digital and 35-mm slide film formats were acquired contemporaneously from 29 subjects with various cup-to-disc ratios (range, 0.26-0.76; median, 0.475). Using a grading scale designed to assess image quality, the ease of visualizing optic disc features important for glaucoma diagnosis, and the comparative diameters of the optic disc cup, experienced observers separately compared the primary digital stereo images to each subject's 35-mm slides, to scanned images of the same 35-mm slides, and to grayscale conversions of the digital images. Statistical analysis accounted for multiple gradings and comparisons and also assessed image formats under monoscopic viewing. RESULTS: Overall, the quality of primary digital color images was judged superior to that of 35-mm slides (P < 0.001), including improved stereo (P < 0.001), but the primary digital color images were mostly equivalent to the scanned digitized images of the same slides. Color seemingly added little to grayscale optic disc images, except that peripapillary atrophy was best seen in color (P < 0.0001); both the nerve fiber layer (P < 0.0001) and the paths of blood vessels on the optic disc (P < 0.0001) were best seen in grayscale. The preference for digital over film images was maintained under monoscopic viewing conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Digital stereo optic disc images are useful for evaluating the optic disc in glaucoma and allow the application of advanced image processing applications. Grayscale images, by providing luminance distinct from color, may be informative for assessing certain features.