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Roy W. Beck, MD, PhD; Pamela Moke, MSPH; R. Clifford Blair, PhD; Richard Nissenbaum, RPh

Arch Ophthalmol. 1996;114(10):1181-1182.

Abstract
Objective
To assess the incidence of uveitis associated with topical β-blockers.

Design
Retrospective cohort study.

Setting
A computerized database of a health maintenance organization was used to identify patients who were prescribed metipranolol or other β-blockers.

Patients
Two groups: 1928 patients using 0.3% metipranolol and 3903 patients using other β-blockers.

Main Outcome Measure
Cases of uveitis were identified by noting a prescription of a topical corticosteroid and then conducting a chart review.

Results
No cases of uveitis were identified among the 5831 patients. The upper limits of the 95% confidence intervals for the incidence of uveitis in cohorts of this size are 1.87 cases per 1000 person-years of exposure for metipranolol and 1.38 for other β-blockers.

Conclusion
Drug-induced uveitis from metipranolol or other β-blocker administration is a rare event, even if a causal relationship exists.

Author Affiliations
From the Jaeb Center for Health Research and the Department of Epidemiology, University of South Florida College of Public Health, Tampa (Drs Beck and Blair and Ms Moke) and the Humana Health Care Plan of Tampa Bay (Mr Nissenbaum). This study was conducted by the Jaeb Center under a contract with Bausch & Lomb, Pharmaceuticals, Rochester, NY. Dr Beck and Ms Moke are employed by the Jaeb Center and Dr Blair serves as a paid consultant to the center. The Humana Health Care Plan (Mr Nissenbaum) was compensated by the Jaeb Center for providing data.

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