Patients
glaucomatous visual, glaucomatous, dry eye disease, non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy, open-angle glaucoma, cataract, glaucoma, retinal disease, systemic disorders, optic disc/retinal nerve fiber, trauma
OCULAR HYPERTENSION, OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA, CATARACT, GLAUCOMA, RETINAL DISEASE, INFLAMMATORY DISEASE
All patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and IOP measurement by Goldmann applanation tonometry, as well as central corneal thickness (CCT) measurement. They also underwent fundus photography, red-free photography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, and visual field examination using a Humphrey Field Analyzer (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA, USA). The glaucomatous changes were determined as typical optic disc/retinal nerve fiber layer changes corresponding to reproducible glaucomatous visual field defects by glaucoma specialists in each institution.The inclusion criteria were patients aged ≥ 19 years with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension with an untreated IOP ≥ 15 mmHg and < 40 mmHg as measured by Goldmann applanation tonometry by a masked, assigned examiner at the screening visit after a proper washout period. All patients receiving IOP-lowering treatment underwent a 4-week washout period except for those using cholinergic eye drops and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, in which the washout period was 5 days. The open angles were determined by gonioscopy. If both eyes were eligible, the one with higher IOP was enrolled; however, if both IOPs were the same, the right eye was enrolled.The exclusion criteria were BCVA less than 20/80, extreme CCT measurement (e.g., outside the range of 470–591 µm), history of angle closure or primary angle closure, prior glaucoma surgery, prior or currently active inflammatory disease, prior ocular trauma, history of intraocular surgery other than simple cataract surgery, retinal laser treatment, any non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy, any macular or retinal disease affecting the disc/retinal nerve fiber layer and the visual field, systemic disorders, and pregnancy. Patients with prior lacrimal punctal occlusion procedures in the past months or in requiring topical treatment (e.g., hyaluronic acid, cyclosporine, diquafosol, autologous serum) for severe dry eye disease were excluded. Patients unable to make voluntary decisions were also excluded from enrollment.