Clinicians should consider switching glaucoma medication within the same class

It is essential that clinicians familiarize themselves with the full spectrum of glaucoma medication available, concludes a study published in the March 2009 issue of Current Opinion in Ophthalmology.

Simon K. Law, MD of the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, US conducted a review of currently available medications to discover if treatments in the same class had similar modes of action and potential adverse events, or if switching to certain medications could offer medical, as well as financial, benefits.

Dr Law found that individual patient response may vary significantly, which could result from factors as diverse as medication compliance, adverse events to medication ingredients or drug-receptor interactions.

Because of these varied factors, Dr Law recommended clinicians be fully versed in currently available treatment, to offer each of their patients the most suitable option.