The ocular effects of etomidate.

Etomidate, a new intravenous hypnotic agent, significantly lowered the mean intraocular pressure (IOP) of fifty patients within 30 s of an intravenous injection from 15.7 to 9.5 mmHg. This effect was present even during the administration (to twenty patients) of low doses (0.25 mg/kg) when the mean reduction was from 15.6 to 7.6 mmHg. The reduction in IOP was unaffected by the presence of muscle movement. Low frequency pendular nystagmus was observed in five patients.