A STUDY TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TIMOLOL 0.5% VERSUS BRIMONIDINE 0.2% FOR CONTROL OF RISE IN INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE AFTER ND-YAG LASER CAPSULOTOMY

Purpose: A study to compare the effectiveness of Timolol 0.5% eye drops versus Brimonidine 0.2 % eye drops for control of rise in intraocular pressure after Nd-YAG laser capsulotomy. Study design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: The study was done on 80 patients (one eye of each patient) of age group 45 to 70 year with posterior capsular opacification planned for Nd-YAG laser capsulotomy in the Department of Ophthalmology Mathuradas Mathur Hospital (Dr S. N. M. C.) Jodhpur. Patients were divided into two groups X and Y of 40 each. The baseline intraocular pressure of all patients was measured by applanation tonometer before instillation of eye drops. Group X instilled one drop of Timolol 0.5% and group Y instilled 1drop of Brimonidine 0.2% one hour before capsulotomy. Intraocular pressure was noted 1 and 4 hour after the laser procedure. Results: There were 40 patients in each group. The baseline IOP was 16±2.16 for group X, and 15±2.56 for group Y. There was no statistically significant reduction between the two groups in the mean IOP changes at 1 hour after Nd-YAG laser capsulotomy but after 4 hours, the mean reduction in IOP was -1.54 mmHg for group X and -1.85 for group Y (p<0.5). Conclusion: Our study revealed that both Timolol 0.5% eye drops and Brimonidine 0.2% eye drops are comparatively equally effective in controlling raised intraocular pressure after Nd-YAG laser capsulotomy.