Incidence of deepening of the upper eyelid sulcus after switching from latanoprost to bimatoprost.

PURPOSE

To investigate the incidence of deepening of the upper eyelid sulcus (DUES) after use of bimatoprost in Japanese glaucoma patients.

METHODS

Twenty-five open-angle glaucoma Japanese patients treated with latanoprost in both eyes for 6 months or longer and needing further intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction were enrolled prospectively. Latanoprost was switched to bimatoprost, and the patients were observed at 1, 3, and 6 months. The patients were queried for the presence of DUES at every visit. Sex, refraction, and IOP were evaluated as related factors. The photographs of the eyes and forehead taken at each of the four visits were randomly displayed and judged for the presence of DUES with unanimous confirmation by three examiners.

RESULTS

One month after the switch to bimatoprost, 44% (11/25) of the patients had DUES, including three with unilateral DUES. At 3 and 6 months, 60% (15/25) of the patients had DUES. The incidence was significantly higher in older patients and nonmyopic eyes (P < 0.01), but not related to sex or IOP reduction. Finally, 53.3% (8/15) of the patients objectively judged to have DUES noticed the presence of DUES by themselves. Only one patient dropped out of the study because of DUES (after 3 months).

CONCLUSION

DUES is an often-observed side effect of bimatoprost topical treatment in Japanese glaucoma patients.