Evaluation for Dry Eye and Intra Ocular Pressure in Patients on Antihypertensive Medications

The study was conducted to evaluate and analyze the ocular side effects of antihypertensive drugs in the patients and to determine the effects of antihypertensive drugs in causing dry eye disease and intra ocular pressure changes. This was a case-control, noninterventional study of 140 patients (70 cases and 70 controls) conducted from June 2014 to May 2015 in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Kangra at Tanda, Himachal Pradesh (India). Patients were subjected to detailed history and examination using standardized protocol and Performa. The prevalence of dry eye in this study was 44.3% in cases and 7.1% in controls, with p value of 0.0001 (<0.05), which is significant. Dry eye was present in all the patients on beta blockers and thiazide diuretics (alone or with combination). Dry eye disease was significantly associated with increasing age and longer duration of antihypertensive treatment. It was observed that average IOP was lower in patients on antihypertensive treatment as compared to normal subjects.