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Background: To investigate IOP control following twelve months of continuous medical therapy in Ghana. Methods: This retrospective case series included 163 glaucoma patients diagnosed at a referral eye center between 1996 and 2006. Information collected included age, gender, IOP at presentation, six months and one year post treatment and types of anti-glaucoma medications prescribed. Optimal IOP control was defined according to results from the Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS), which demonstrated arrest of visual field progression in patients with IOP < 18 mmHg at all visitations: Level 1 (post-treatment IOP ≤ 21 mmHg); Level 2 (≤ 18 mmHg) and level 3 (≤ 16 mmHg). The principal outcome measure was the achievement of IOP <18 mmHg at six months and twelve month visitations. Results: One hundred sixty three patients were analyzed. These included 68 males (41.7%) and 95 females (58.3%). The mean age was 57±16 (median 59 years; range 7 - 95 years). There was no significant difference in age (p=0.35) or mean IOP (p=0.08) between genders. The mean pre-treated IOP of 31.9±8.9 mmHg significantly decreased to 21.3±6.6 mmHg at 6 months (p=0.001), with 57.4% of eyes at Level 1 IOP control, 25.3% at Level 2 and 15.4% at Level 3 and decreased further at 12 months to 20.7±6.9 mmHg (p=0.48) with 69.7% of eyes at Level 1, 34.4% at Level 2, and 12.4% at Level 3. Conclusions: Current medical regimen is insufficient to reduce IOP to target levels as defined in the Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-visual factors influence a person's vision-related quality of life (VRQoL). The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between health literacy and VRQoL in glaucoma patients. Methods: One hundred and ninety-five subjects with open-angle glaucoma participated in a cross-sectional patient survey and chart review. Subjects were administered a test of health literacy, an assessment of physical and mental well-being, and an assessment of VAQoL, the National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25). Charts were reviewed for visual acuity and visual field results. Results: In univariate analyses, older age (p<0.001), non-White race (p<0.001), worse visual acuity (p<0.001), worse visual field scores (p<0.001), lower level of education (p<0.001), worse health literacy (p<0.001) and worse score on the mental health component of the SF-12 (p = 0.005) were associated with worse VFQ-25 scores. In multivariate analyses, only older age was associated with worse total VFQ-25 scores (p<0.001), although the association between health literacy and the VFQ subscale of dependency remained significant (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Individuals with a lower health literacy do not appear to have a worse overall VRQoL compared with those with a higher literacy, but worse health literacy is associated with increased dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]