title: Ahmed Glaucoma Valve implantation in African American and white patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the results of Ahmed Glaucoma Valve implantation in African American and white patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective, comparative case-control study, we reviewed 86 eyes of 86 patients, comparing the surgical outcomes in white patients (n = 43) with matched African American patients (n = 43). Success was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) between 6 mm Hg and 21 mm Hg with or without glaucoma medicines, without further glaucoma surgery, and without loss of light perception (definition 1) and an IOP between 6 mm Hg and 21 mm Hg and achievement of a 20% reduction in IOP from the preoperative level (definition 2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean follow-up was 2.3 years for white patients and 2.5 years for African American patients (P = .50). At the last follow-up, the mean +/- SD IOP was 15.3 +/- 3.3 mm Hg and 15.3 +/- 3.5 mm Hg (P = .77) in white and African American patients, respectively. Life table analysis showed a significantly lower success rate for African American patients compared with white patients by both definition 1 (P = .03) and definition 2 (P = .006). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis detected African American race as a risk factor for surgical failure by both definitions. Visual outcomes and complications were comparable between the 2 groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  African American patients have a greater risk of surgical failure after Ahmed Glaucoma Valve implantation compared with white patients.
authors.affiliation: Hamilton Eye Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis 38163, USA.
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Netland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000601:surgery*; D020327:Glaucoma Drainage Implants; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017211:Treatment Failure; D044465:White People