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Treatment of ocular hypertension and open angle glaucoma: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

BMJ 2005; 331 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38506.594977.E0 (Published 14 July 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:134
  1. Philip C Maier, fellow in ophthalmology (maierphi{at}aug.ukl.uni-freiburg.de)1,
  2. Jens Funk, professor of ophthalmology1,
  3. Guido Schwarzer, senior statistician2,
  4. Gerd Antes, director, German Cochrane Centre2,
  5. Yngve T Falck-Ytter, assistant professor of medicine3
  1. 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Freiburg, Killianstr 5, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany
  2. 2 Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Hospital Freiburg
  3. 3 Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, 10701 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
  1. Correspondence to: P Maier
  • Accepted 27 May 2005

Abstract

Objective Open angle glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness in industrialised nations. Treatments to lower ocular pressure are widely used in glaucoma prevention and treatment, despite conflicting evidence.

Design We performed meta-analyses to reassess the effectiveness of pressure lowering treatment to delay the development of glaucoma in ocular hypertension, as well as progression of manifest open angle glaucoma.

Data sources Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library.

Selection of studies Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials with a concurrent untreated control group and information on time to glaucomatous changes to visual field and optic disc. Trial reports were reviewed independently by two investigators in an unblinded standardised manner.

Results Meta-analysis of trials in ocular hypertension showed a significant preventive effect of reducing intraocular pressure on progression to glaucoma (hazard ratio 0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.81, P = 0.01; number needed to treat 12). Pooled data of studies in manifest glaucoma showed a significant delay of visual field deterioration (0.65, 0.49 to 0.87, P = 0.003; NNT = 7), with subgroup analysis showing a larger effect in patients with raised pressure and a reduced effect in normal tension glaucoma (subgroup comparison: not significant).

Conclusions Lowering intraocular pressure in patients with ocular hypertension or manifest glaucoma is beneficial in reducing the risk of visual field loss in the long term.

Footnotes

  • Funding None.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Accepted 27 May 2005
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