Efficacy and safety of Bimatoprost as replacement for Latanoprost in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension: A uniocular switch study

Abstract

<h4>Purpose</h4>To assess the efficacy and safety of switching patients from bilateral latanoprost to bimatoprost in 1 eye while maintaining latanoprost in the fellow eye.<h4>Patients and methods</h4>This prospective, open-label, multicenter, uniocular (within-eye control) study was conducted from March 2005 to February 2007; 105 patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension were enrolled. At baseline, patients using bilateral latanoprost were switched to bimatoprost treatment in 1 eye (study eye) and continued latanoprost treatment in the fellow eye (control eye). At 12 weeks, patients were offered bilateral bimatoprost for 12 additional weeks.<h4>Results</h4>At week 12, the mean difference in intraocular pressure (IOP) from baseline was -3.0 mm Hg in study eyes and -1.6 mm Hg in control eyes, which equates to a further -1.4 mm Hg (95% confidence limits: -1.9, -0.9) reduction in IOP in study eyes compared with control eyes (P<0.0001). Overall, 27% (28/104) more study eyes had > or = -2.5 mm Hg reduction in IOP than control eyes (P<0001). At week 24, the mean difference in IOP from baseline was -2.8 mm Hg for study eyes and for control eyes that had switched to bimatoprost. Conjunctival hyperemia occurred more frequently and was more severe in bimatoprost-treated eyes at week 12 than at baseline (P<0.001). No patients withdrew from treatment because of conjunctival hyperemia.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Clinically, these data suggest that switching patients from latanoprost to bimatoprost may result in further improvement in IOP control.