Comparative study of the intraocular pressure effects of fluorometholone 0.1% versus dexamethasone 0.1%.

The intraocular pressure effect of fluorometholone 0.1% was compared with that of dexamethasone 0.1% by performing corticosteroid provocative tests on 24 matched pairs of eyes. Fifteen of the 24 dexamethasone treated eyes, 62.5%, showed a change in intraocular pressure greater than 5 mmHg, with mean delta P = 8.58 mmHg and range 0 to +20 mmHg. Only 2 of the 24 fluorometholone treated eyes, 8.3%, showed a change in pressure greater than 5 mmHg, with mean delta P = 2.96 mmHg and range -2 to +14 mmHg. There was a highly statistically significant difference between the intraocular pressure effects of topical dexamethasone and fluorometholone (correlated t test, p less than 0.001). Fluorometholone would appear to be the topical steroid of choice for patients with glaucoma and other known steroid responders when topical steroid treatment is indicated.