Purpose: To evaluate intraocular pressure (IOP) control and the ocular adverse effects resulting from a large-scale transition from latanoprost to travoprost among patients at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Eye Clinic.
Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients transitioned from latanoprost to travoprost after a revision of the drug formulary used by the VAMC in Houston, Texas. IOP control after changing medications and the incidence of ocular adverse effects attributed to travoprost were the main outcomes measured. For patients who were using IOP-lowering medications bilaterally, the worse eye was used for all IOP analyses. Long-term retention in IOP control plus a cost-saving analysis were presented as a secondary assessment.
Results: Five hundred ninety-nine (599) patients with 1,041 treated eyes were evaluated. Mean IOP was 15.86 +/- 4.15 mmHg among patients using latanoprost prior to the prostaglandin analog transition. After transitioning to travoprost, the mean IOP was 15.78 +/- 4.38 mmHg. The mean within-eye change in IOP in the worse eye when transitioned from latanoprost to travoprost was -0.07 +/- 3.27 mmHg (P = 0.5914). Twenty-four (24) patients (4%) experienced an ocular adverse effect while using travoprost. In the long-term retention analysis at 1 year, mean change in IOP from the time of the original change to travoprost was +0.21 +/- 3.71 mmHg (P = 0.2683).
Conclusions: The large-scale transition from latanoprost to travoprost maintained long-term IOP control. Only a small percentage of clinic patients experienced mild ocular adverse effects after being transitioned to the new prostaglandin analog.