Most patients with mild-to-moderate glaucoma may be able to lower their intraocular pressure by about 19% after two years following selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), a study in the Journal of Glaucoma reports. Despite the favorable outcome, SLT was still inefficient in up to 35% of the study eyes.

A team of researchers analyzed data from the Lausanne Laser Trabeculoplasty Registry that included 126 patients (170 eyes) who had SLT between 2015 and 2017. Patients were approximately 68 years old and the majority (57.9%) were female.

The investigation excluded patients who were younger than 40 and were diagnosed with a condition other than ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma. The study tracked IOP and the number of medications taken prior to the procedure and during follow-ups after surgery. The researchers defined success as “complete” if a patient had an IOP reduction of at least 20% at any given time, and “qualified” if they had at least a 20% reduction in IOP or if the number of IOP-lowering medications were reduced.

Patients’ average baseline IOP was 18.7±4.8mm Hg. At the one-year follow-up, IOP reduced on average by 3.3±4.3mm Hg (-17.6% from baseline) and even further at the two-year follow-up: 3.5±3.9mm Hg (-18.7% from baseline).

The study noted male gender, baseline IOP and medical treatment prior to SLT were tied to more successful outcomes. SLT success in the fellow eye was the strongest predictive factor regarding IOP outcomes, researchers noted.