This article is published with digital features, including a summary slide, to facilitate understanding of the article. To view digital features for this article go to

Glaucoma is an important cause of irreversible blindness that represents a significant economic burden; most direct costs of glaucoma are drug-related. We calculated the annual cost of some of the most commonly prescribed glaucoma medications in Mexico, according to their average wholesale price (AWP) and dose regimen. Annual costs ranged from USD4.97 for Imot 15 ml (timolol 0.5 %; Laboratorios Sophia) to USD675.39 for Alphagan 5 ml (brimonidine 0.2 %; Allergan, Inc.). β-Blockers were the least expensive glaucoma medications (range USD20.44-55.44). Alphagan 5 ml was 250 % more expensive than other selective α(2)-agonists. Of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, dorzolamide 2 % was less expensive than brinzolamide 1 % (USD326.91 vs. USD418.96). The annual cost for prostaglandin analogs ranged from USD235.58 for bimatoprost 0.03 % to USD337.78 for latanoprost 0.005 %. Some fixed combinations were less expensive than separate combinations. The average annual cost for all treatments increased by 27.87 ± 10.09 % between 2009 and 2012. Annual glaucoma therapy cost seems to be lower in Mexico than in other countries, due to a lower AWP, especially for some medications made by Mexican laboratories.

Purpose: To describe clinical results of Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation in Mexican patients with neovascular glaucoma (NVG).Materials and methods: We reviewed records of 60 eyes of 60 patients with NVG who underwent Ahmed valve implantation, with a follow-up period of 1 year. We identified successful and failed cases and compared baseline and follow-up characteristics to identify possible differences between both groups.Results: We classified 36 eyes (60%) as successful and 24 (40%) as failed cases. We found a significant difference in success rate in patients who had a hypertensive phase at any time during the follow-up period (OR = 5.15, CI = 1.49-20.15, p = 0.004). Patients in the success group showed a statistically significant decrease in the number of glaucoma medications 1 year after surgery (p <0.0001). We found a statistically significant difference in success rate in patients who had preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) better than logmar 0.70 (odds ratio 4.31, CI = 1.1-19.3, p = 0.03086).Conclusion: A hypertensive postoperative phase and a preoperative BCVA worse or equal to 20/100 seem to be risk factors for Ahmed valve surgical failure in patients with NVG.How to cite this article: Hernandez-Oteyza A, Lazcano-Gomez G, Jimenez-Roman J, Hernandez-Garciadiego C. Surgical Outcome of Ahmed Valve Implantation in Mexican Patients with Neovascular Glaucoma. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2014;8(3):86-90.

AIM: To assess and compare knowledge and awareness of glaucoma in subjects with and without glaucoma diagnosis attending an Ophthalmology Referral Center. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Asociación Para Evitar la Ceguera in Mexico City, using a questionnaire formulated by a group of experts following the Delphi panel rules, and pre-tested in a pilot study. The questionnaire was applied and compared between: glaucoma patients, relatives of glaucoma patients and patients without glaucoma. Socio-demographic data was collected to assess correlation with the level of knowledge using Logistic regression models, estimating the odds ratios (OR), 95% confidence intervals, and P&#x003C;0.05. RESULTS: Three hundred and ninety-four subjects were enrolled; with a median age of 61y. One hundred and thirty-four (34%) were patients with glaucoma, 152 (38.6%) patients without glaucoma, and 108 (27.4%) relatives of patients with glaucoma. Two hundred and ninety-one (73.9%) participants were aware of the term “glaucoma”. Regarding knowledge 46.7% had moderate knowledge, 37.8% had poor knowledge, and 15.5% good knowledge. Overall, relatives of glaucoma patients had the highest scores, and patients without glaucoma got the lowest scores. A positive correlation was found between better knowledge and frequent ophthalmological examinations OR 2.24 (P=0.02), higher education level OR 4.17 (P=0.00) and having a family member with glaucoma OR 3.28 (P=0.00). CONCLUSION: Awareness and knowledge of glaucoma in subjects attending an Ophthalmology Referral Center is predominantly moderate or poor. This has important implications regarding attitudes that can result in lack of follow up in ophthalmological care.

No abstract