Comparing The Outcomes of Micro-Pulse Diode Laser Therapy vs Pharmacological Treatment in Poag

Abstract

Glaucoma is progressive optic neuropathy often due to high eye pressure, leading to permanent vision loss if untreated. It is typically symptoms less in early. The primary treatment for glaucoma is lowering IOP. Pharmacological treatment remains the first line treatment; however poor patients’ compliance long-term dependency limits its effectiveness. Micro-pulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation has developed as an insignificantly invasive laser therapy with promising consequences. To compare the effects of micro-pulse transscleral cyclo-coagulation laser with pharmacological drops in lowering IOP. To compare the patient compliances in both groups. A randomized control trail was conducted at Allied hospital for 6 months using a random sample technique. Total 50 patients diagnosed with glaucoma were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups, each with 25 patients. Group A received micro-pulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation while Group B was treated with timolol 0.5%. The study followed single blind design where participants were unaware of their treatment allocation group. Baseline IOP and VFQ were recorded before any intervention and follow-up measurements were taken at 1st week, 4 week and 6 months. The Shapiro-Wilk test was applied to assess the normality of data. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 27. After applying Shipro-Wilk test all variables showed p values greater than 0.005 the data were considered normally disturbed. Within group analysis showed statistically significant reduction in IOP and improvement in VFQ scores in Group A from baseline to all follow-up visits (p<0.001), demonstrating continuous enhancement over time. In Group B, both IOP and VFQ scores showed initial improvement however, no significant more changes were observed after 4 weeks. Across the group comparison showed that Group A achieved greater reduction in IOP and improvement in VFQ scores compared to group B, Moreover patient compliances was better in Group A as compared to Group B. The study concluded that (MP-TSCPC) showed better and consistent results in reducing IOP and better patient compliances as compared to timolol 5 % drops in glaucoma patients.