The effect of pneumatic trabeculoplasty on intraocular pressure: the results of a 6-month, open-label, multicenter study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of pneumatic trabeculoplasty (PNT) in ocular hypertension and glaucoma subjects. METHODS: A total of 63 consecutive subjects, either treated (79%) or untreated (21%), with intraocular pressure (IOP) between 20 and 25 mmHg were enrolled; the eye with higher IOP (or, in case of identical IOP, worse visual field) was treated with PNT, with the fellow eye used as control. Subjects underwent a baseline evaluation the day before treatment, two PNT treatments at day 0 and 7, visits at day 1, 8, 14, and at each month until the end of the study, which lasted 6 months. Safety was addressed at all visits; an IOP curve (at 8 and 10 AM, 2 and 4 PM) was obtained at baseline and during monthly visits. RESULTS: In PNT eyes, baseline IOP was 22.2-/+1.6 mmHg. Following PNT a statistically significant reduction of IOP occurred at all visits (p<0.0001), with a mean decrease ranging from -2.7-/+2.5 (-11.9-/+10.8%) to -3.6-/+2.6 mmHg (-16.0-/+11.6%); mean reduction was 12.8-/+11.5%. Although IOP diminished also in the control eyes after baseline (p<0.05), the change in IOP was significantly higher in PNT group at each visit (p<0.05). Mild side effects were experienced by 76% of subjects and they all resolved without sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the effect of this procedure in reducing IOP in glaucoma and ocular hypertensive subjects.