J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2008 May;49(5):743-752. 10.3341/jkos.2008.49.5.743.

Prophylactic Effect of Brimonidine 0.15% on IOP Elevation After Intravitreal Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection

• Lee MW
• Kyung SE
• Chang MH

• KMID: 2211704
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2008.49.5.743

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prophylactic effect of brimonidine 0.15% on intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation and the risk factors for its elevation after intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection (IVTA).
METHODS
A prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 67 eyes of 64 patients undergoing IVTA. Eyes were randomly divided into two groups, those which had used brimonidine 0.15% (40 eyes) and those which had not used it (27 eyes). IOP was measured preoperatively, at one week, and monthly until six months post-injection in each group.
RESULTS
The mean post.injection IOP at one week was 11.93+/-3.36 mmHg for the group that had used brimonidine and 13.58+/-3.25 mmHg for the group that had not used it. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant at one week (p=0.049), but others were not statistically significant. An elevation in the IOP of more than 22 mmHg was seen in 8 eyes (20%) in the group using brimonidine and in 7 eyes (25.9%) in the group not using brimonidine. There was no difference in the incidence of IOP elevation between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Prophylactic use of brimonidine 0.15% will prevent sudden IOP elevation and will, therefore, prevent damage to the retina and optic nerve. However, in the long term, there is no prophylactic effect of brimonidine 0.15% on IOP elevation because there was no difference in the incidence of IOP elevation of more than 22 mmHg between the two groups.

Keyword

Brimonidine; Intravitreal injection; Intraocular pressure; Triamcinolone acetonide

MeSH Terms

Eye
Humans
Incidence
Intraocular Pressure
Intravitreal Injections
Optic Nerve
Prospective Studies
Quinoxalines
Retina
Risk Factors
Triamcinolone
Triamcinolone Acetonide
Brimonidine Tartrate
Quinoxalines
Triamcinolone
Triamcinolone Acetonide

Figure

• 

  Figure 1. Serial change of mean intraocular pressure in each group. ∗ Statistically significantly different between the two groups (p<0.05, Student's t-test).

Reference

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