Use of antiglaucomatous drugs in patients with severe glaucoma: how many are necessary to control the disease? CamposMaria Elizabete Jimenes de CidFelipe Biscegli Campos NetoÁlvaro Alves de 2018 <p></p><p>ABSTRACT Introduction: Glaucoma is the main cause of irreversible blindness in Brazil. To date, there is no ideal drug for the control of intraocular pressure (IOP), usually requiring the combination of two or more hypotensive drugs, with frequent daily instillations and poor adherence to treatment. Objectives: To describe quantitatively and qualitatively the drugs used to control IOP and the efficacy of treatment in the prevention of blindness. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out through a review of 420 medical records of patients with severe Glaucoma who were followed up at the Emílio Carlos Hospital outpatient clinic in Catanduva, SP, from January 2014 to December 2016. The analyzed variables were: age, visual acuity and antiglaucomatous drugs used: topical (eye drops) and systemic. Results:The mean age of participants was 62.99 ± 16.29 years. Sixty-eight cases of blindness were detected, and three patients (0.7%) lost vision at the time investigated, with references to periods without treatment / subdose / improper instillation / use of 3 or 4 eye drops. In 73.3% of the cases, IOP stabilization was achieved with one (38.1%) or at most 02 (35.2%) associated drops. There was a significant correlation between the number of combinations of topical hypotensive agents and the number of patients taking acetazolamide. The drugmostused was Timolol (67.1%). Conclusions: In the majority of patients IOP was controlled with 1 or 2 associated eye drops; small percentage of cases evolved into blindness; most likely the evolution to loss of vision was due to the complexity and poor adherence to the treatment.</p><p></p>