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Lessons Learned From the Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study

Louis R. Pasquale, MD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(1):125-127.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) would benefit from the safest, most effective approach to preserve their visual function while maximizing their quality of life. Certainly we owe it to our patients to find the best approach to manage glaucoma using evidence-based medicine. The Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS) is a randomized clinical trial that tests whether filtration surgery or medical therapy is the best initial step to treat newly diagnosed OAG. Before this study, there were claims that immediate surgery was superior to medical therapy for patients with newly diagnosed OAG (see the study by Musch et al¹ for a list of references). These studies indicated that a surgery-first approach to glaucoma was associated with lower intraocular pressure (IOP), more favorable visual field outcomes, and lower costs than a medicine-first approach. Furthermore, other studies indicated that long-term medical therapy disrupted the integrity of the ocular . . . [Full Text of this Article]

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Author Affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston.

RELATED ARTICLE

The Investigators' Perspective on the Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS)
Paul R. Lichter, David C. Musch, and Nancy K. Janz
Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(1):122-124.
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