Single treatment selective laser trabeculoplasty in a Southern African resource-constrained context

Background: In a resource-constrained environment, selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is an attractive option. This study’s primary objective is to report real-world outcomes in terms of reduction in intraocular pressure, reduction in topical treatment and further surgery required. Methods: A re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Emma J. Pons, Jonathan J. Pons, Elly S. Grossman, Daniel Louw, Merle Werbeloff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa
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Online Access:https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/118
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Summary:Background: In a resource-constrained environment, selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is an attractive option. This study’s primary objective is to report real-world outcomes in terms of reduction in intraocular pressure, reduction in topical treatment and further surgery required. Methods: A retrospective case series of consecutive patients who received SLT between 01 January 2017 and 31 December 2018 was conducted. Patient data were captured for up to 21 months. Results: In all, 59 eyes of 36 patients were analysed. The mean patient age was 57.8 years (± 10.0). Sixty four per cent of the patients had SLT on both eyes. 83% of the patients were black ethnicity or of mixed race ethnicity. There was a significant and sustained intraocular pressure reduction (median reduction = 25.8%, IQR = 5.3%, 40.4%) from pre-SLT to 10–15 months (Wilcoxon T = 27.5, p = 0.002). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis estimated that 60% of patients required no treatment escalation for up to 21 months. Neither cup-disc ratio nor pre-treatment intraocular pressure were found to be a predictive factor of treatment success or failure (p = 0.675 and p = 0.128). Conclusion: The results of this study support the use of SLT for patients with not only mild to moderate glaucoma but also advanced glaucoma in a Southern African, resource-limited context. The results demonstrate ongoing benefit for these patients up to 21 months following a single treatment. Contribution: This research provides, for the first time, long-term data from a low-resourced setting on the use of SLT in the treatment of glaucoma in Eswatini.
ISSN:2960-110X