Childhood Glaucoma and Medical Treatment: An Up to Date

Abstract

Successful treatment of paediatric glaucoma presents many challenges, with IOP control as the first but not the only priority. In paediatric cases medical therapy may play different roles: it could be an important resource for preparing patients for surgical intervention through clearing cornea, it may help control IOP post-operatively or it may be the initial and often the mainstay pillar for clinical management. Besides inadequate IOP reduction, multiple factors conspire against the success of long term medical therapy in paediatric glaucoma: the difficulties with long term adherence, more than in adults, adequate ascertainment of drug-induced side effects and potential adverse systemic effect of protracted therapy among others. Many medications are available for glaucoma management but many of them still carry a warning that “safety and efficacy in paediatric patients have not been established”. An “Up to date” of medical options for childhood glaucoma is the core aim of this chapter, hoping it could be useful for the daily clinical decision process.