Squeezing and rubbing of eyelids substantially increases IOP in glaucoma patients: BMJ

Germany: Eyelid maneuvers (especially substantial with squeezing and rubbing) caused transient elevations in intraocular pressure (IOP) in individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), says an article published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Patients with glaucoma who are using topical glaucoma medication frequently have dry eye symptoms and are thus more inclined to touch or pinch their eyelids. In this work, Jacqueline J O N van den Bosch and colleagues telemetrically measured peak intraocular pressure (IOP) during eyelid motions and eyelid rubbing.

As a baseline measurement, 11 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who had previously been implanted with a telemetric IOP sensor (Eyemate-IO) were told to stare straight ahead for 1 minute. Following that, 6 cycles of blinking on command with 10 s intervals were conducted. In addition, 5 rounds of eyelid closure (n=9), squeezing (n=7), and rubbing (n=7) were conducted at 15 s intervals. IOP was measured using an external antenna that was wrapped around the subject's eye. One-sample t-tests were used to compare average peak IOP changes from baseline to zero (no change).