Efficacy and Safety of a Fixed Combination of Bimatoprost (0.03% w/v) and Timolol (0.5% w/v) for Patients with Open-angle Glaucoma

Abstract

Purpose: We investigated the efficacy and safety of a fixed combination of bimatoprost (0.03% w/v) and timolol (0.5% w/v) (Ganfort^® , Allergan Inc., Irvine, CA, USA; fixed combination of bimatoprost-timolol, BTFC) for open-angle glaucoma patients.Methods: We included 25 right eyes with open-angle glaucoma treated with eye drops. The drops were changed to the BTFC without a wash-out period. The therapeutic and adverse effects were evaluated by comparing the intraocular pressure (IOP) before the change to that at 1, 4, 7, and 10 months thereafter.Results: The mean IOP before the instillation of eyedrop and the mean reduction of IOP at each time was 18.66 ± 8.22 mmHg (n = 21) and 2.47 ± 3.19 mmHg (13.24%) at 1 month, 19.05 ± 8.54 mmHg (n = 18) and 3.68 ± 5.55 mmHg (19.32%) at 4 months, 16.68 ± 2.52 mmHg (n = 16) and 2.13 ± 2.87 mmHg (12.77%) at 7 months, and 20.07 ± 9.91 mmHg (n = 14) and 2.79 ± 4.48 mmHg (13.90%) at 10 months (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Side effects included soreness (two eyes, 7.7%), red eye and allergic symptoms (three patients, 11.5%), and discomfort (three patients, 11.5%); there were no severe adverse events such as permanent vision loss or systemic side effects.Conclusions: BTFC reduced the IOP of open-angle glaucoma patients without causing permanent vision loss or any other serious side effects.