Purpose: To evaluate the 6- month daytime efficacy of a fixed combination of timolol and brimonidine (BTFC) versus a timolol and dorzolamide fixed combination (DTFC) as a first choice therapy in patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXG).
Methods: This study was a randomized, prospective, investigator-masked, 6-month comparison of twice-daily administration of BTFC versus DTFC in 60 newly diagnosed PXG patients.
Results: Mean baseline untreated IOPs were 25.5 ± 2.6 mmHg and 26.2 ± 2.1 mmHg in the DTFC and BTFC groups, respectively. Mean intraocular pressure (IOP) reductions ranged from -7.3 ± 1.9 to -8.1 ± 2.0 mmHg for the DTFC group and from -7.5 ± 2.0 to -8.6 ± 2.6 mmHg for the BTFC group. No significant differences between the two treatment groups could be found. At month 6, the mean diurnal IOP was 17.5 ± 2.5 mmHg (31.3%) for the DTFC group and 18.0 ± 2.8 mm Hg (31.7%) for BTFC. As compared with baseline, mean diurnal IOP decreased by 7.9 ± 1.9 mmHg in the DTFC and 8.2 ± 1.5 mmHg in the BTFC, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.6). No statistical difference in terms of adverse events was found either.
Conclusion: Both fixed combinations were effective at lowering IOP in PXG. This study suggests that the daytime diurnal IOP is not statistically different when DTFC or BTFC is used as a first choice therapy in patients with PXG.