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Selective topical beta-blockers show increased risk of airway obstruction, study finds

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Treatment with a selective topical beta-blocker is associated with an increased risk of airway obstruction in glaucoma patients, according to a study. The authors recommend that selective beta-blockers should be subject to the same caveats regarding airway obstruction as nonselective beta-blockers.

James F. Kirwan and colleagues in London performed a historical cohort study to determine the incidence of airway obstruction in people with glaucoma who were treated with topical beta-blockers. With selective topical beta-blockers, 12 of 324 treated subjects developed airway obstruction, compared to 112 of 9,094 control patients. With nonselective topical beta-blockers, 69 of 2,321 patients developed an airway obstruction. There was no significant difference between the two groups, both showing a significantly increased risk of airway obstruction.

The study is published in the February issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.