Abstract

Background/aim: To evaluate the economic burden of intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medications on Egyptian patients with glaucoma, in addition to studying the social grounds of glaucoma education.

Methods: In a cross-sectional observational study, the clinical and socioeconomic data were collected from 68 glaucomatous patients who were attending the outpatient clinics of Cairo University Hospital, through interviews, questionnaires, and clinical examinations.

Results: Patients had a mean IOP of 22.9 mm Hg (SD 11.5). Just under half the patients had an IOP of over 30 mmHg although 88% were on medical treatment; average of 2.1 medications (SD 0.8). Patients had been spending 79.5 LE (SD 95.3) on glaucoma medications a month, which equals 30.1% of their monthly income. Forty per cent of patients did not know that glaucoma causes blindness. The primary source of knowledge about glaucoma for 79.4% of patients was the ophthalmologist.

Conclusion: The lack of control of IOP is probably related to the economic burden associated with glaucoma medications. ‘Glaucoma education’ is an important issue to both the treating ophthalmologist and the patient.