Dry Eye and Irritation Comparison of Latanoprost With the Preservative Versus Travoprost Without Preservative
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2008-09-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Although Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) has been used as a preservative for many years, many
studies have demonstrated that prolonged use of topical ocular medications preserved with BAC
may exacerbate sequelae associated with ocular surface disease. These effects could lead to
the induction of subclinical inflammation,1 reduction of corneal epithelial barrier function,
2, 3 destabilization of the tear film, 4 cataract formation, 5 and an overall higher
incidence of patient complaints of dryness and irritation. 4-6 This study will compare the
efficacy of travoprost 0.004% without benzalkonium chloride (BAC) to that of the marketed
formulation of latanoprost 0.005%with BAC in patients with dryness and irritation and
open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. A double blind comparison will be used to assess
whether those two different formulations will affect the tear breakup times, corneal
staining, and baseline tear secretion tests in patients that are already taking latanoprost
regularly with complaints of dryness and irritation. Patients included in the study will be
given two bottles, one labeled for their right eye and the other for their left eye. Each
pair of bottles will be identical in appearance and randomized with either latanoprost or
travoprost and each pair will be assigned a number to aid in future analysis of the final
results.