The effects of switching to latanoprostene bunod in patients with glaucoma

Nora Lee Cothran, OD, FAAO, discussed a real-world study on switching glaucoma patients to latanoprostene bunod (LBN). Cothran explained that she initially noticed good pressure-lowering results when switching patients to LBN in her clinical practice. This led her and colleague Constance Okeke, MD, MSCE, to conduct a retrospective chart review, which found an average 25% IOP reduction in patients switching from prior prostaglandin medications. To further validate these findings, they analyzed data from the Iris Registry, a large eye disease database. From over 4 million patients, they identified 833 who met the study criteria. This larger dataset confirmed the IOP-lowering benefits, showing an average 2.8 mmHg drop for patients switching from prostaglandins, and 3.3 mmHg for those on non-prostaglandin therapies.

Cothran emphasized that these real-world results support using LBN, especially for patients not yet at target IOP or experiencing quality of life issues on current medications. Reducing the treatment burden by switching to a single, well-tolerated medication can improve patient compliance and outcomes. She challenged optometrists to take a more active role in managing glaucoma, rather than automatically referring patients to specialists. With their training and connection to patients, optometrists can effectively use data-driven approaches like LBN to control glaucoma and prevent vision loss.

In summary, the study provides optometrists confidence in prescribing LBN based on its proven efficacy in real-world clinical settings, helping improve glaucoma management for their patients.