Retrospective cohort study of 163 pediatric glaucoma patients.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to describe a cohort of pediatric glaucoma patients in Quebec. DESIGN: This study was a retrospective medical record review. PARTICIPANTS: The study included patients younger than 18 years who were diagnosed with glaucoma between 1980 and 2000 and monitored at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine) and had ocular hypertension or glaucoma in at least 1 eye. METHODS: The data gathered concerned patients' information, the surgical procedures performed post diagnosis associated with the glaucoma diagnosis, and the drugs prescribed. RESULTS: The study included 163 patients (254 eyes), a total of 374 surgical procedures, and the use of 2885 antiglaucoma drug therapies. For the 4 most frequent pathologies, patients were monitored for 8.4 (SD 4.2) years for aphakic glaucoma/pseudophakic glaucoma, 10.0 (SD 5.5) years for congenital glaucoma, 9.0 (SD 5.2) years for Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, and 7.5 (SD 3.4) years for uveitic glaucoma. In total, 113 patients had at least 1 surgical procedure (69.3%). Before 1985, only timolol, pilocarpine, epinephrine, acetazolamide, and dipivefrin were used. Other beta blockers then appeared (betaxolol, levobunolol between 1985 and 1990, and the timolol-pilocarpine association between 1990 and 1995). After 1995, we saw the arrival of a new class of prostaglandin F2 alpha analogues, with latanoprost and other carbonic acid anhydrase inhibitors such as dorzolamide and brinzolamide. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the great variety of glaucoma diagnostic subgroups and the use of surgery and drug therapies.