Use of brimonidine tartrate eye drops after nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy event: Case series

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the response of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness to brimonidine tartrate (0.15%) eye drops after a nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) event. Methods: Series of cases with retrospective data collection of medical records and optical coherence tomography (OCT) examinations to evaluate retinal nerve fiber layer from 63 eyes of 36 patients with nonarteritic AION. The patients were collected according to the clinical criteria from the ophthalmology service of a major hospital. Healthy subjects were recruited from the general clinic and hospital staff. Patients were randomized into three groups: Group 1: patients using brimonidine tartrate (0.15%) eye drops, Group 2: patients without using eye drops, and Group 3: control group. Results: The group without medication had a statistically significant loss of lower nerve fiber layer (P = 0.025) and in the mean OCT (P = 0.035); however, in the other quadrants, the thickness reduction was not statistically significant. They showed a pattern of greater loss in the upper portion (P = 0.065), followed by the lower (P = 0.025), temporal (P = 0.051), and nasal (P = 0.07) portions, but the ISNT rule was preserved. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the nonuse of brimonidine tartrate led to a statistically significant loss of the lower nerve fibers layer and in the mean OCT.