Thursday, June 12, 2008

Abstract: BAK BAAAD

Hopefully you all know this. But, it doesn't hurt to have the world expert in BAK say so. If your doctor has you on a BAK-containing medication used multiple times daily and has NOT discussed the risks with you, bring him a copy of this and talk about it.

On the other hand, sigh, in light of the problems preservative free vials pose for the elderly (see recent post) solutions are not always obvious or readily at hand.

Detrimental effect of preservatives in eyedrops: implications for the treatment of glaucoma.
Baudouin C.
Acta Ophthalmol. 2008 Jun 3. [Epub ahead of print]

Antiglaucoma medications are often associated with ocular adverse reactions such as dry eye, and burning or stinging sensations. These undesirable effects may lead to treatment discontinuation and reduced quality of life in patients with glaucoma. Antiglaucoma medications usually contain benzalkonium chloride (BAK) as a preservative. Animal studies, in vitro studies and in vivo experiments have demonstrated various adverse effects of BAK. Clinical studies have also shown an increased incidence of adverse events with BAK and have demonstrated that the withdrawal of preservatives reduces these effects. Collectively, these data suggest that preservative-free antiglaucoma treatments have clinically relevant benefits for patients.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hello. I am an optometrist that works in an ophthalmology practice in Hilton Head SC. Actually, my official title is Director of Dry Eye Clinic and Specialty Contact lenses. I did an ocular disease residency after optometry school and have been working in ocular disease based practices since 2004. About 80 percent of my patients suffer from dry eye. I, like you, am fighting on the forefront of this dry eye battle everyday. I frequent your website at least weekly. Articles such as the BAK article you presented today are great for patients to see in an unbiased atmosphere. So many times I try to get my patients to use non preserved drops and they refuse. I feel like sometimes they think that I am trying to get them to spend more money or somehow complicate their lives unnecessarily with preservative free vials. Using BAK free formulations is great because it really takes some of the confounding variables out of treating dry eye. Would you mind if I directed some of my patients to this website?