Monitoring eye pressure in patients with glaucoma is vital to determine if and when treatment is needed, and how well it is working. Currently, eye pressure is checked in the clinic.

To gain a fuller picture of patients’ eye pressure, glaucoma specialists Thomas Johnson III, M.D., Ph.D., and Elyse McGlumphy, M.D., recently conducted a study of patients who performed home monitoring of their eye pressure with a hand-held tonometer.

They found that more than 50 percent of the time, patients’ maximum daily eye pressure occurred outside of clinic hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and thus would not have been captured at an appointment. In a number of patients, fluctuations in pressure were significant enough to warrant more aggressive treatment, including surgery. The results were published in Ophthalmology Glaucoma.

While research is ongoing, Wilmer specialists believe the convenience and additional information offered by the home monitoring of glaucoma will help both patients and doctors manage the disease more effectively.