Prevalence And Patterns of Ocular Surface Disease Among Glaucoma Patients On Topical Medications

THIS STUDY AIMS TO DETERMINE HOW COMMON OCULAR SURFACE DISEASE IS AMONG GLAUCOMA PATIENTS WHO USE TOPICAL ANTIGLAUCOMA MEDICATIONS AND TO IDENTIFY THE PATTERNS AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IT. LONG TERM USE OF GLAUCOMA EYE DROPS, ESPECIALLY THOSE CONTAINING PRESERVATIVES, CAN CAUSE DRYNESS, IRRITATION, TEAR FILM INSTABILITY, AND SURFACE DAMAGE. THE STUDY WILL INCLUDE 98 PARTICIPANTS, DIVIDED INTO A STUDY GROUP OF GLAUCOMA PATIENTS ON TOPICAL THERAPY AND A CONTROL GROUP WITHOUT ANY TOPICAL EYE MEDICATION USE. EACH PARTICIPANT WILL UNDERGO A STRUCTURED ASSESSMENT THAT INCLUDES OSDI QUESTIONNAIRE, TEAR BREAKUP TIME, SCHIRMER TEST, AND OCULAR SURFACE STAINING. DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, TYPE AND NUMBER OF MEDICATIONS, DURATION OF TREATMENT, AND PRESERVATIVE EXPOSURE WILL ALSO BE RECORDED. THE RESULTS WILL HELP ESTIMATE THE PREVALENCE AND SEVERITY OF OCULAR SURFACE DISEASE IN THIS POPULATION AND IDENTIFY ASSOCIATIONS WITH MEDICATION BURDEN AND PRESERVATIVE USE. FINDINGS ARE EXPECTED TO GUIDE BETTER SCREENING AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR OCULAR SURFACE PROBLEMS IN GLAUCOMA PATIENTS.