Sponsored by Akorn
The intersection of glaucoma and ocular surface disease (OSD) is increasingly becoming clear as research into these chronic and progressive diseases grows. Not only are we learning that these conditions often present and progress concomitantly, but a growing body of research is revealing the negative effects of eye drop preservatives on the ocular surface. 

This is of utmost concern, as a damaged ocular surface and an unstable tear film can degrade the glaucoma patient’s vision-related quality of life, as well as compromise the individual’s compliance with glaucoma therapies and jeopardize the opportunity for positive surgery results. Amplify-ing patient discomfort or treatment dissatisfaction in a population potentially burdened by two ocular diseases could lead to, in a worst-case scenario, patient dropout.

The right strategy and therapeutic decisions can ensure adequate control of patient pressures while at the same time safeguard-ing the individual’s ocular surface from unnecessary irritation, aggravation and damage. Our patients’ eye health and vision quality of life deserve nothing less.