Short-term Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Cataract-combined Surgery with iStent versus iStent Inject

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the therapeutic effects, prognostic factors, and complications that occurred after iStent<sup>®</sup> or iStent inject<sup>®</sup> implantation in South Korean glaucoma patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42 eyes of South Korean glaucoma patients, who were followed-up for more than 6 months after iStent<sup>®</sup> or iStent inject<sup>®</sup> implantation alone or combined with cataract surgery. Surgical success was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) ≤21 mmHg and an IOP reduction ≥20% from preoperative IOP levels. Results: The cumulative success rate at 6 months after surgery was 45.3 ± 8.1% for iStent inject<sup>®</sup> alone (group A), 28.6 ± 13.1% for iStent<sup>®</sup> alone (group B), 81.2 ± 6.8% for iStent inject<sup>®</sup> combined with cataract surgery (group A-1), and 27.3 ± 21.8% for iStent<sup>®</sup> combined with cataract surgery (group B-1). Group A-1 showed a higher success rate than group B-1 (<i>p</i> = 0.007); the difference in success rates between groups A and B was not statistically significant (<i>p</i> = 0.579). When the success prognostic factors were analyzed by Cox regression analysis, the results showed that a higher preoperative IOP was associated with a higher surgical success rate (hazard ratio 0.80, <i>p</i> = 0.02). Conclusions: In our patient group, iStent inject<sup>®</sup> was more effective than iStent<sup>®</sup> in combination with cataract surgery. The higher the preoperative IOP, the higher the surgical success rate; the results were significant.