Retrospective Single-Center Outcomes After a First Bimatoprost Sustained-Release Implant.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Glaucoma Management
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Glaucoma management often requires continuous medication and interventions to lower intraocular pressure (IOP).
• The bimatoprost sustained-release (SR) implant offers a novel approach to reduce the burden of topical IOP-lowering treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the long-term efficacy of the bimatoprost SR implant.
• Key outcomes included time to additional IOP-lowering interventions, changes in medication use, and IOP levels.
• Subgroup analyses considered lens status and prior trabecular meshwork (TM) procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective single-center study of 223 eyes from 134 patients receiving a bimatoprost SR implant.
• Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and linear mixed-effects models were employed.
• Data collected from electronic medical records between September 2020 and June 2022.

Main Results:

• 67.3% of eyes remained free from additional IOP-lowering treatment at 6 months, declining to 20.5% at 24 months.
• A significant reduction in topical medication use was observed from 1 month up to 18 months post-implantation (p < 0.001).
• No significant decrease in IOP was noted; subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in IOP based on lens status or TM procedure history.

Conclusions:

• The bimatoprost SR implant effectively reduced topical medication burden for up to 18 months.
• The implant provided at least six months of freedom from additional IOP-lowering interventions for a majority of patients.
• Long-term efficacy, particularly beyond 6-12 months, showed a gradual decline in the proportion of eyes remaining intervention-free.