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Aims: To compare selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) and argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT), in terms of intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering, in patients with open-angle glaucoma. Methods: 176 eyes of 152 patients were enrolled in this study, 89 in the SLT and 87 in the ALT groups. Patients were randomised to receive either SLT or ALT treatment to 180˚of the trabecular meshwork. Patients were followed up to 12 months after treatment. The main outcome measured was IOP lowering at 12 months after treatment, compared between the SLT and ALT groups. Results: No significant difference (p = 0.846) was found in mean decrease in IOP between the SLT (5.86 mm Hg) and ALT (6.04 mm Hg) groups at 1 year or at any other time points, nor were there any significant differences in the rate of early or late complications between the two groups. Conclusions: SLT is equivalent to ALT in terms of IOP lowering at 1 year, and is a safe and effective procedure for patients with open-angle glaucoma.

Background: Cataract surgery is the most common operative procedure performed in Canada, and how patients are affected by wait times for this surgery has important clinical, public health and health policy considerations. We conducted a systematic review to understand the relation between wait time for cataract surgery and patient outcomes and the variables that modify this relation. Methods:We performed an electronic search of 11 databases and the proceedings of 4 conferences. The search was restricted to studies published after the transition to phacoemulsification (1990). We assessed the quality of the included studies using the Jadad Scale for randomized controlled trials and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort and case-control studies. The data were found to be inappropriate for meta-analysis, thus we performed a qualitative synthesis. Results:We found a total of 27 studies that met our inclusion criteria. When these studies were reviewed, a dichotomy was observed for the wait time-outcome relation: outcomes associated with wait times of ≤ 6 weeks were better than outcomes associated with wait times of ≥ 6 months. Patients who waited more than 6 months to receive cataract surgery experienced more vision loss, a reduced quality of life and had an increased rate of falls compared with patients who had wait times of less than 6 weeks. The outcomes associated with wait times between 6 weeks and 6 months remain unclear. Interpretation:Patients who wait more than 6 months for cataract surgery may experience negative outcomes during the wait period, including vision loss, a reduced quality of life and an increased rate of falls. CMAJ 2007;176(9):1285-90 Abstract

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