Presence of MGD has minimal effect on ocular surface in medically treated glaucoma
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
No additional effect on ocular surface parameters was seen in patients with medically treated glaucoma with or without meibomian gland dysfunction, according to a study.
The cross-sectional study included 70 patients with glaucoma on long-term (longer than 1 year) topical hypotensive medications. Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is “frequently encountered” in these patients, according to the researchers, with mild to moderate disease detected in 47 of the 70 patients and minimal signs detected in nine.
Prevalence was 85.3% in patients receiving one medication and 70% for patients on two medications. For patients on three or four medications, the prevalence was 85%.
In all patients, with or without MGD, no significant difference was seen in ocular surface disease index score, tear break-up time, lissamine green score or Schirmer’s results. “Overall, our results suggest that the presence of MGD does not seem to have an additional detrimental effect on the ocular surface to that already induced by chronic topical medication use,” the researchers wrote. – by Robert Linnehan.
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.