Publication:

A comparative study on safety and efficacy of travoprost and brimonidine/timolol fixed combination in patients of primary open angle glaucoma

Background The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the clinical efficacy of topically applied travoprost 0.004% eye drops versus brimonidine/timolol fixed combination eye drops in the management of primary open-angle glaucoma.

Methods In this prospective, randomized study, 65 patients received either travoprost eye drops once daily in the morning (n=33) or brimonidine/timolol fixed combination eye drops twice daily (n=32). Intra ocular pressure (IOP) was assessed at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was mean reduction in IOP.

Results Thebaseline mean IOP values were similar between two groups. Mean reduction of IOP in the right eye for brimonidine/timolol fixed combination group was 9±2.9 mmHg, whereas in the left eye it was 10.9±2.8 mmHg. In the travoprost group, the reduction in IOP of the right eye was 7.8±2.9 mmHg (p=0.0002) and 7.5±3.4 mmHg (p=0.0001) in the left eye. The mean reduction of IOP for the brimonidine/timolol group was 9.95 mmHg and for the travoprost group it was 7.6 mmHg (p<0.0001) in both the eyes.

Conclusions The fixed combination brimonidine/timolol twice daily demonstrated superior mean IOP lowering efficacy compared to travoprost 0.004% in patients with open-angle glaucoma.