title: Prevalence of self-reported early glaucoma eye drop bottle exhaustion and associated risk factors: a patient survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One barrier to patient adherence with chronic topical glaucoma treatment is an inadequate amount of medication available between prescription refills. We examined the self-reported prevalence of early exhaustion of glaucoma eye drops prior to a scheduled refill, and associated risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional survey was performed at a University-based clinical practice. Glaucoma patients at the University of Washington who were experienced with eye drop application and were on a steady regimen of self-administered glaucoma drops in both eyes took a survey at the time of clinic examination. The main outcome measure was self-reported early eye drop bottle exhaustion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  236 patients were eligible and chose to participate. In general, patients included were relatively healthy (mean 2.3 comorbid medical conditions). Sixty patients (25.4%) reported any problem with early exhaustion of eye drop bottles, and this was associated with visual acuity ≤ 20/70 in the better eye (P = .049). Twelve patients (5.1%) reported that they "often" (5-7 times per year), "usually" (8-11 times per year) or "always" ran out of eye drops prior to a scheduled refill. Patients affected by this higher level (≥ 5 times yearly) of eye drop bottle exhaustion were more likely to have poor visual acuity in their worse eye ≤  20/70 (P = .015) and had significantly lower worse-eye logMAR (P = .043).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported early glaucoma bottle exhaustion regularly affected 5% of patients in our population and 25% reported early exhaustion at least once; the main risk factor was poor vision in at least one eye. These results may not be generalizable to a broad patient population, or to those inexperienced with eye drop self-administration. However, this pilot study compels further evaluation and consideration of early eye drop bottle exhaustion in glaucoma patients.
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Charlene
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Walton
authors.forename: Kristy L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Moeller
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Slabaugh
authors.forename: Raghu C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Mudumbai
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington, 325 Ninth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA. pchen@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Philip P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012646:Self Administration; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions