Switching to preservative-free latanoprost: impact on tolerability and patient satisfaction

Abstract

Patient satisfaction with glaucoma treatment has been poorly studied to date. Because glaucoma is a chronic condition in which the therapeutic response is dependent on adherence to treatment, patient acceptability is an important factor in achieving satisfactory outcomes. This multicenter, international (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain), epidemiological convenience sample survey among patients commencing treatment with preservative-free latanoprost collected data on patient satisfaction with particular regard to tolerability. A total of 1,541 patients were recruited who were predominantly elderly (74% were over 60 years of age) and female (61%). Most of the patients had previously received preserved topical glaucoma medication (69%), 6.7% had previously received preservative-free medication, whereas 24% had not previously been treated for glaucoma. The great majority of patients (>95%) were satisfied with the preservative-free latanoprost treatment. Among the patients who had previously received preserved medication, 73% of patients found preservative-free latanoprost to be better tolerated and 89% found it at least as easy to use as their prior treatment. Patient satisfaction (determined by a 0-100 mm visual analog scale) was improved by 47% on a switch from preserved treatment to preservative-free latanoprost. Intraocular pressure was similar in patients who had previously received preserved (18.3 mmHg), preservative-free (17.8 mmHg) glaucoma medication or who were naïve to treatment (20.3 mmHg). Preservative-free latanoprost provided effective reduction of intraocular pressure with better tolerability and patient satisfaction than preserved glaucoma medication. This tolerability profile can be expected to improve adherence to treatment in glaucoma patients.

Keywords: glaucoma therapy; patient satisfaction; persistence; preservative; prostaglandins analogs; tear substitutes; tolerability.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure This survey was undertaken with funding from Laboratoires Theá under the supervision of the expert group. Members of the expert group were remunerated by Laboratoires Théa for their participation in the study and are consultants to Laboratoires Theá. Editorial assistance in manuscript preparation was provided by Dr JF Stolz who was remunerated by Laboratoires Theá. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1

Visual analog scale for determining tolerance to preservative-free latanoprost and previous treatment.

Figure 2

Comparative tolerability of preservative-free latanoprost with previous preserved treatment.

Figure 3

Tolerability of current preservative-free latanoprost treatment compared with previous preserved treatment. Notes: Figure shows the mean and range of tolerability (as assessed by visual analog scale) of the current preservative-free latanoprost treatment (squares) after switch from the previous preserved treatment (circles). Error bars show the ranges of the mean values.

Figure 4

Investigator assessment of the presence of ocular signs (N=3,082).