Open AccessClinicians’ perspectives on the use of drug-eluting contact lenses for the treatment of glaucoma
Author(s) -
Elise Taniguchi,
Patricia Kalout,
Louis R. Pasquale,
Daniel S. Kohane,
Joseph B. Ciolino
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
therapeutic delivery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.619
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 2041-6008
pISSN - 2041-5990
DOI - 10.4155/tde.14.76
Subject(s) - medicine , contact lens , glaucoma , drug , drug delivery , blindness , intensive care medicine , ophthalmology , optometry , glaucoma medication , pharmacology , nanotechnology , materials science
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The perspective of clinicians who treat the disease is important and may ultimately dictate the adoption of new treatment modalities, such as drug-eluting contact lenses. Recent advances have enabled contact lenses to serve as a sustained-release drug-delivery platform capable of treating glaucoma. This review covers the medical treatment of glaucoma, suboptimal adherence rates to treatment, and factors that may influence the clinical applicability of drug-eluting contact lenses. Ophthalmologists who treat glaucoma were surveyed to determine their perspective on treatment adherence, bandage contact lens use and the use of a drug-eluting contact lens to treat glaucoma. Given the challenge of treating glaucoma and the clinical need for improved drug delivery, drug-eluting contact lenses appear to be a promising treatment option.