Glaucoma patients satisfied with multi-dose drug delivery system
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The use of a multi-dose delivery system for treating glaucoma was highly accepted by patients with decreased visual acuity and dexterity problems, according to a study published in the European Journal of Ophthalmology.
“While safe and effective topical treatments for glaucoma exist, insufficient treatment compliance may impact on the treatment success,” Philippe Denis, MD, PhD, service d’ophtalmologie, Hopital de la Croix-Rouss, and colleagues wrote. “Patients with instilling problems of their topical glaucoma medication due to vision or dexterity problems are acknowledged to be at higher risk for poor compliance, frequent medication switching and, ultimately, surgery.”
In an observational, retrospective and non-interventional study assessing patient satisfaction and ease of multi-dose delivery system (MDDS) use, 788 adult patients underwent analysis between 2016 and 2018. They attended a single study visit and then filled out an independent questionnaire regarding the use of the MDDS.
Overall, 78.4% of patients rated the MDDS as good, better or much better than their previous treatment options, 78.3% were satisfied or very satisfied, and 82.8% said they would continue using this delivery system. Non-serious adverse events were reported by 0.97% of patients and were resolved in most cases.
“The tested MDDS is highly accepted in the studied population and is a suitable choice for a xed-combination glaucoma therapy,” Denis and colleagues concluded. “Further studies may be necessary to assess the easiness of use of this easy-to-grip delivery system in patients with greater disability to instill or having severe problems in instilling their eye drops themselves.”
Perspective
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Lisa M. Young, OD, FAAO
Eye drops are a safe and effective treatment for glaucoma. On the surface, self-administering drops seem simple, yet for many that small bottle (or vial) is their nemesis. Have you ever instilled drops in your own eyes? This task requires balance, control, good vision and manual dexterity. It’s definitely not as easy as putting drops in someone else’s eyes. There is justifiable concern that this can lead to issues with medication compliance and the subsequent inability to control IOP. These concerns are leading the quest for alternative drug delivery systems.
Denis and colleagues devised an eye drop delivery system with a multi-dose bottle that requires a thumb and forefinger squeezing motion. This relatively large apparatus is purported to ease the instillation process. They found that their device received positive patient feedback, with almost 80% rating this system as good, better or much better than their previous treatment options. Additionally, patients benefit from the use of a nonpreserved drop formulation.
Despite the positive patient reviews, this new multi-dose delivery system still requires relatively good vision and manual dexterity for success. I remain hopeful and optimistic that even better drug delivery systems will be in our future.
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