Brimonidine Tartrate for Pterygium Surgery

Pterygium Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effect of Brimonidine Tartrate on Subconjunctival Hemorrhage During Pterygium Surgery

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04683159
• Other study ID #: Red Eye 2.0
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 2021
• Est. completion date: September 2021

Study information

• Verified date: December 2020
• Source: Uptown Eye Specialists
• Contact: Eric Tam, MD
• Phone: 416-292-0330
• Email: etam[@]uptowneye.ca
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Pterygium excision and conjunctival autograft surgery is commonly done to treat pterygiums. Excessive bleeding during the procedure creates a challenging operating field, prolongs surgery time, and prolongs healing.

Brimonidine tartrate has a vasoconstrictive effect, which helps to reduce the amount of blood flow and hyperemia to the eye. Preoperative use of brimonidine has been shown to decrease subconjunctival hemorrhage during procedures such as cataract surgery, laser assisted in situ keratomileusis, strabismus surgery, and intravitreal injections. The focus of this study is to assess the effect of preoperative application of brimonidine tartrate 0.15% (Alphagan) and 0.025% (Lumify) on reducing hemorrhage during pterygium excision and conjunctival autograft surgery.

Description:

During pterygium excision and conjunctival autograft surgery, incision into the conjunctiva of the operated eye causes a significant amount of subconjunctival hemorrhage. Brimonidine-tartrate is a selective alpha-2-adrenergic agonist. The 0.15% concentration (Alphagan) is commonly used to treat glaucoma, while the 0.025% (Lumify) is an over-the-counter drop used for its vasoconstrictive anti-hyperemia effect. Brimonidine 0.15% has been evaluated in other studies to reduce bleeding in LASIK, cataract surgery, strabismus surgery, as well as intravitreal injections. In these mentioned clinical trials, brimonidine was found to safely reduce subconjunctival hemorrhage intraoperatively and hyperemia postoperatively. Interestingly, prophylactic topical brimonidine was found to increase risk of early flap slippage in LASIK due to molecular interference with flap stabilization. Because creation of a flap is not a component of pterygium surgery, preoperative brimonidine does not interfere with healing.

A recent study by Ucar et al. has validated the use of preoperative brimonidine 0.15% for conjunctival whitening prior to pterygium surgery, allowing for minimized hyperemia and reduced surgical duration (Ucar, 2020). However, the long-term clinical outcomes, and efficacy of brimonidine 0.025% has yet to be examined. This study aims to further examine the comparative efficacy of preoperative brimonidine at different concentrations to reduce subconjunctival hemorrhage during pterygium surgery.

Potential side effects of topical application of brimonidine eye drop may include blurred or loss of vision, burning, dry, or itching eyes, discharge or excessive tearing, disturbed color perception, double vision, halos around lights, headache, itching of the eye, night blindness, photophobia, redness of the eye or inner lining of the eyelid, swelling of the eyelid, tearing of the eye, tunnel vision. Side effects of this medication are self-limited, and reversible after the medication is stopped.

The risk of this study to the subject is negligible as the standard surgical procedure will be followed. This trial will be conducted in compliance with the protocol, GCP, and the applicable regulatory requirement as set by William Osler Health System Ethics Review Board.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 66
• Est. completion date: September 2021
• Est. primary completion date: July 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• All patients over age 18 who are scheduled for pterygium surgery who have provided informed consent, in accordance with application regulations and guidelines

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are on anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy

• Patients on monoamine oxidase (MOA) inhibitor therapy

• Patients who have undergone any conjunctival surgery in the past

• Any complication during pterygium excision

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Hemorrhage
• Pterygium
• Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

Intervention

Drug:
• Brimonidine Tartrate 0.15% Oph Soln
1 drop of brimonidine 0.15% (~0.05mL) 15 minutes prior to surgery
• Brimonidine Tartrate 0.025% Oph Soln
1 drop of brimonidine 0.025% (~0.05mL) 15 minutes prior to surgery

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Uptown Eye Specialists

References & Publications (6)

Desco MC, Navea A, Ferrer E, Menezo JL. Effect of prophylactic brimonidine on bleeding complications after cataract surgery. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2005 Mar-Apr;15(2):228-32. — View Citation

Hong S, Kim CY, Seong GJ, Han SH. Effect of prophylactic brimonidine instillation on bleeding during strabismus surgery in adults. Am J Ophthalmol. 2007 Sep;144(3):469-70. — View Citation

Kim CS, Nam KY, Kim JY. Effect of prophylactic topical brimonidine (0.15%) administration on the development of subconjunctival hemorrhage after intravitreal injection. Retina. 2011 Feb;31(2):389-92. doi: 10.1097/IAE.0b013e3181eef28e. — View Citation

Muñoz G, Albarrán-Diego C, Sakla HF, Javaloy J. Increased risk for flap dislocation with perioperative brimonidine use in femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2009 Aug;35(8):1338-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrs.2009.03.029. — View Citation

Norden RA. Effect of prophylactic brimonidine on bleeding complications and flap adherence after laser in situ keratomileusis. J Refract Surg. 2002 Jul-Aug;18(4):468-71. — View Citation

Ucar F, Cetinkaya S. The Results of Preoperative Topical Brimonidine Usage in Pterygium Surgery. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 2020 May;36(4):234-237. doi: 10.1089/jop.2019.0085. Epub 2020 Feb 27. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Subconjunctival hemorrhage grading	Subconjunctival hemorrhage grading of images at POD0, POW1, and POM1 will be done as follows: a score of 1-4 for the number of quadrants involved, and a score of 1-4 for the amount of involvement in the quadrant (1 = 0-25% coverage, 2 = 26-50% coverage, 3 = 51-75% coverage, 4 = 76-100% coverage). A total maximum score of 16 may be given, with 0 indicating no subconjunctival hemorrhage present. This grading algorithm is adapted from previously published methods (Munoz 2009, Hong 2007, Norden 2002). Grading will be done by an independent reviewer blinded to the randomization of participants.	Post-operative Day 0 (30 minutes following operation)
Primary	Subconjunctival hemorrhage grading	Subconjunctival hemorrhage grading of images will be done as follows: a score of 1-4 for the number of quadrants involved, and a score of 1-4 for the amount of involvement in the quadrant (1 = 0-25% coverage, 2 = 26-50% coverage, 3 = 51-75% coverage, 4 = 76-100% coverage). A total maximum score of 16 may be given, with 0 indicating no subconjunctival hemorrhage present. This grading algorithm is adapted from previously published methods (Munoz 2009, Hong 2007, Norden 2002). Grading will be done by an independent reviewer blinded to the randomization of participants.	Post-operative Week 1
Primary	Subconjunctival hemorrhage grading	Subconjunctival hemorrhage grading of images will be done as follows: a score of 1-4 for the number of quadrants involved, and a score of 1-4 for the amount of involvement in the quadrant (1 = 0-25% coverage, 2 = 26-50% coverage, 3 = 51-75% coverage, 4 = 76-100% coverage). A total maximum score of 16 may be given, with 0 indicating no subconjunctival hemorrhage present. This grading algorithm is adapted from previously published methods (Munoz 2009, Hong 2007, Norden 2002). Grading will be done by an independent reviewer blinded to the randomization of participants.	Post-operative Month 1 (4 weeks)
Secondary	Hyperemia	Hyperemia will be quantified in the same manner as Ucar et al. (Ucar, 2020). Vessels on the images converted to black and white with Adobe Photoshop - vessels will be converted to black, while the rest of the sclera will be white. ImageJ (public domain software) will then be used to quantify the number of black pixels (vessels). Hyperemia will be reported as the number of black pixels per image.	Baseline
Secondary	Hyperemia	Hyperemia will be quantified in the same manner as Ucar et al. (Ucar, 2020). Vessels on the images converted to black and white with Adobe Photoshop - vessels will be converted to black, while the rest of the sclera will be white. ImageJ (public domain software) will then be used to quantify the number of black pixels (vessels). Hyperemia will be reported as the number of black pixels per image.	Post-drop (5 minutes after administration)
Secondary	Hyperemia	Hyperemia will be quantified in the same manner as Ucar et al. (Ucar, 2020). Vessels on the images converted to black and white with Adobe Photoshop - vessels will be converted to black, while the rest of the sclera will be white. ImageJ (public domain software) will then be used to quantify the number of black pixels (vessels). Hyperemia will be reported as the number of black pixels per image.	Post-operative day 0 (30 minutes after surgery)
Secondary	Hyperemia	Hyperemia will be quantified in the same manner as Ucar et al. (Ucar, 2020). Vessels on the images converted to black and white with Adobe Photoshop - vessels will be converted to black, while the rest of the sclera will be white. ImageJ (public domain software) will then be used to quantify the number of black pixels (vessels). Hyperemia will be reported as the number of black pixels per image.	Post-operative week 1
Secondary	Hyperemia	Hyperemia will be quantified in the same manner as Ucar et al. (Ucar, 2020). Vessels on the images converted to black and white with Adobe Photoshop - vessels will be converted to black, while the rest of the sclera will be white. ImageJ (public domain software) will then be used to quantify the number of black pixels (vessels). Hyperemia will be reported as the number of black pixels per image.	Post-operative month 1
Secondary	Duration of operation	The length of time it takes the pterygium operation	During surgery
Secondary	Visual Acuity	logMAR visual acuity	Baseline
Secondary	Visual Acuity	logMAR visual acuity	Post-operative week 1
Secondary	Visual Acuity	logMAR visual acuity	Post-operative month 1
Secondary	Steroid usage	Duration & frequency of steroid usage	Post-operative week 1
Secondary	Steroid usage	Duration & frequency of steroid usage	Post-operative month 1