Asymptomatic bradycardia possibly associated with travoprost therapy

Travoprost (Travatan(®)), a prostaglandin ophthalmic solution, is a second-line therapy for open-angle glaucoma, according to the Clinical Practice Guideline of the American Optometric Association. Recently, travoprost has been used as a first-line therapy in many patients because of its effectiveness and a once-daily dosing. It lowers the intraocular pressure by enhancing the aqueous humor outflow. Based on the product information, adverse effects such as ocular hyperemia, eye pain, pruritus, and bradycardia have been associated with travoprost therapy. Significant bradycardia is defined as heart rate or pulse of less than 60 beats per minute. We report on an 87-year-old man who experienced asymptomatic bradycardia while using travoprost ophthalmic solution. The pulse in our patient ranged from 42 to 50 beats per minute while receiving travoprost therapy during his hospitalization. Travoprost ophthalmic solution was discontinued because it was thought to be the likely cause of significant sinus bradycardia in our patient. After travoprost discontinuation, the average pulse of the patient was 66 beats per minute. Based on Naranjo's Scoring System (an objective tool) for assessing the likelihood of drug-induced adverse effects, the score of 3 was obtained, which indicated a "possible" adverse effect. To our knowledge, this is the first case report about significant bradycardia possibly associated with travoprost therapy.