Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27226684›Full record

ArticleNigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical Association

Effect of preserved and preservative-free timolol eye drops on tear film stability in healthy Africans.

Alex Ilechie, Samuel Abokyi, Gifty Boateng, George Asumeng Koffuor

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical Association. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Alex IlechieDepartment of Optometry, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Samuel AbokyiDepartment of Optometry, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Gifty BoatengDepartment of Optometry, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
George Asumeng KoffuorDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
University of Cape Coast · GHKwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology · GH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPreserved versus nonpreserved formulations for ophthalmic use have been well described in the literature although not specifically in the African population where beta blockers are frequently used as the first-line therapy due to economic and availability issues. This study sought to determine the effect of preserved and preservative-free Timolol eye drops on tear film stability in healthy black Africans. MATERIALS AND

methodsSixty healthy nondry eye subjects aged 19-25 years were randomly assigned into four groups (n = 15) and differently treated with eye drops of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), preservative-free timolol (PFT), benzalkonium chloride (BAK) only, and BAK-preserved timolol (BPT). Noninvasive tear break-up time (NITBUT) was measured using the keratometer at baseline and 30, 60, and 90 min after drop application.

resultsNo significant decline in NITBUT was observed following treatment with PFT and PBS. However, BAK treatment showed a positive time-dependent significant decline in NITBUT (P < 0.001) while a significant decline in the BPT-treated group was only found at 90 min (-3.52 s; P < 0.001). In comparison to the PFT-treated group, treatment with BAK and BPT showed significantly lower NITBUT (P < 0.001).

conclusionBPT is associated with a significant decline in tear film stability in black Africans. This finding has implications in the management of glaucoma in patients with high-risk of dry eyes in this population.

Indexed as

Benzalkonium chloride preserved timololglaucomakeratometerpreservative-free timolol

Identifiers

PMID27226684
PMCPMC4872486
OpenAlexW2360361575

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.