Abstract
Objective: To study the frequency and severity of ocular surface disease among glaucoma patients attending
the Eye Clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Methods: A hospital-based, cross sectional study was carried out at the Eye Clinic of the University College
Hospital, Ibadan. After a detailed ocular examination, each respondent completed an Ocular Surface Disease
Index (OSDI) questionnaire and performed central visual field assessment. Participants were analyzed for the
effect of anti-glaucoma topical medications (all BAK-preserved) and glaucoma severity on ocular surface disease.
Results: A total of 122 consecutive glaucoma patients were studied. Males accounted for 45.1%. Increasing daily
drops of anti-glaucoma medication was significantly associated with increasing side effects such as redness,
stinging and peppery sensations (p < 0.01). Eighty four patients representing 68.9% had some form of OSD using
the OSDI score. The OSDI scores and the number of patients with OSD significantly increased with increasing
glaucoma severity (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Ocular surface disease was found to be associated with glaucoma severity and use of BAK-preserved
topical anti-glaucoma medications.
References
The definition and classification of dry eye
disease: report of the Definition and Classification
Subcommittee of the International Dry Eye
Workshop. Ocul Surf. 2007; 5(2):75–92.
Pflugfelder SC. Prevalence, burden and
pharmacoeconomics of dry eye disease. Am J Manag
Care. 2008; 14(3 Suppl):S102-S106.
Smith JA. The epidemiology of dry eye disease:
report of the Epidemiology Subcommittee of the
International Dry Eye WorkShop. Ocul Surf. 2007;
(2):93–107.
Brewitt H, Sistani F. Dry eye disease: the scale of
the problem. Surv Ophthalmol. 2001; 45(Suppl 2):
S199-S202.
Mathers WD, Choi D. Cluster analysis of patients
with ocular surface disease, Blepharirtis and dry eye.
Arch Ophthalmol. 2004; 122(1):1700-1704.
Leung EW, Medeiros FA, Weinreb RN. Prevalence
of ocular surface disease in glaucoma patients.
J Glaucoma. 2008; 17(5): 350-355.
Quigley H, Browman AT. The number of people
with glaucoma worldwide in 2010 and 2020. Br J
Ophthalmol. 2006; 90(3): 267-267.
Friedman DS, Wolfs RC, O’Colmain BJ, Klein BE,
Taylor HR, West S, et al. Prevalence of open-angle
glaucoma among adults in the United States. Arch
Ophthalmol. 2004; 122(4): 532-538.
Klaver CC, Wolfs RC, Vingering JR, Hofman A,
de Jong PT. Age-specific prevalence and causes
of blindness and visual impairment in an older
population: the Rotterdam Study. Arch Ophthalmol.
; 116:653-658.
Pizzarello LD. The dimensions of the problems of
eye disease among the elderly. Ophthalmology.
; 94:1191-1195.
Stewart WC, Stewart JA, Nelson LA. Ocular surface
disease in patients with ocular hypertension and
glaucoma. Curr Eye Res. 2011; 35(5):391-398.
Wilson WS, Duncan AJ, Jay JL. Effect of
benzalkonium chloride on the stability of the
precorneal tear film in rabbit and man. Br J
Ophthalmol. 1975; 59:667-669
Baudouin C, de Lunardo C. Short-term comparative
study of topical 2% carteolol with and without
benzalkonium chloride in healthy volunteers. Br J
Ophthalmol. 1998; 82:39-42.
Yee RW. The effect of drop vehicle on the efficacy
and side effects of topical glaucoma therapy: a
review. Curr Opin Ophthal. 2007; 18: 134-139.
Herreras JM, Pastor JC, Calonge M. Ocular
surface alteration after long term treatment with
an antiglaucomatous drug. Ophthalmology. 1992;
:1082-1088.
Baudouin C, Labbe A, Liang H, Pauly A, Brignole-
Baudouin F. Preservatives in eyedrops: the good,
the bad and the ugly. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2010;
(4):312–334.
Skalicky SE, Goldberg I, McCluskey P. Ocular
surface disease and quality of life in patients with
glaucoma. Am J Ophthalmol. 2012; 135(1):1–9.
Schiffman RM, Christianson MD, Jacobsen G,
Hirsch JD, Reis BL. Reliability and validity of the
ocular Surface Disease Index. Arch Ophthalmol.
; 118(5):615-621.
Garcia-Feijo J, Sampaolesi JR. A multicenter
evaluation of ocular surface disease prevalence in
patients with glaucoma. C. Ophthalmol. 2012; 6:
-446.
Barisic F, Krolo I, Popovic-Suic S, Sesar I, Simic-
Prskalo M, et al. Prevalence of Ocular Surface
Disease in Patients with Glaucoma using Topical
Antiglaucoma Medications. J Clin Exp Ophthalmol.
; 5:334. doi: 10.4172/2155-9570.1000334.
Katz G, Springs CL, Craven ER, Montecchi-Palmer
M. Ocular surface disease in patients with glaucoma
or ocular hypertension treated with either BAKpreserved
latanoprost or BAK-free travoprost. Clin
Ophthalmol. 2010; 4:1253-1261.