ESCRS - POCOR578 - Bulbar Conjunctival Changes Associated With Preservative-Free Vs Preserved Latanoprost 0.005% In Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Bulbar Conjunctival Changes Associated With Preservative-Free Vs Preserved Latanoprost 0.005% In Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Published 2026 - 44th Congress of the ESCRS

Reference: POCOR578 | Type: Poster | DOI: 10.82333/y78f-4292

Authors: A/Prof. Tetiana Zhmud* 1 , Prof. Dr Galyna Drozhzhyna 2

1eye,National Pirogov Memorial Medical University,Vinnytsia,Ukraine, 2corneal pathology,The Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and tissue therapy of the National Academy 20 of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Odessa, , Odessa, ,Ukraine

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the condition of the bulbar conjunctiva in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma when using latanoprost 0.005% eye drops with and without preservatives.

Setting

Prolonged instillation of anti-glaucoma drugs, especially those with preservatives, may be accompanied by damage to the epithelium of the eye surface and development of dry eye syndrome.

Methods

Thirty-six patients with open-angle glaucoma were further subdivided into two study groups: study group 1 – 21 patients (21 eyes) used latanoprost 0.005 % with preservatives in the form of eye drops, study group 2 – 15 patients (15 eyes) – instillations of latanoprost 0.005 % (in the Protriaxin matrix) without preservative; twenty-one healthy participants comprised the control group.

 
 

Results

We found that use of anti-glaucoma medication without or with a preservative does not affect the cytological landscape of the bulbar conjunctiva. However, we observed the presence of inflammatory cells in 42.8% of patients receiving Latanoprost with benzalkonium chloride and in 6.6% of patients taking the medication without preservatives (p=0.0279). Patients in study group 1 have 10.5 times the odds of presence of inflammatory cells than those in study group 2 (OR= 10.5; 95% CI [1.15 -95.25], P=0.0366).

Conclusions

These findings support the preferential use of preservative-free antiglaucoma eye drops, particularly in patients with pre-existing or suspected ocular surface damage, to minimize cytological changes and subclinical inflammation during long-term therapy.