Trial reportJournal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA2026
Efficacy and safety of preservative-free versus preserved timolol eye drops in glaucoma: A randomized crossover study.
Trial report in Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe efficacy and safety of preservative-free timolol (PF-timolol) vs preserved timolol (P-timolol) have not been compared in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or ocular hypertension (OHT).
methodsIn this randomized, crossover, single-center study, patients received PF-timolol twice daily or P-timolol once daily for 6 weeks, followed by crossover to the alternate treatment for 6 weeks. The primary endpoint was the change in intraocular pressure (IOP) between treatment groups. Secondary endpoints were tear film breakup time (TBUT), superficial punctate keratopathy (SPK) score, conjunctival hyperemia, systemic vital signs, and patient-reported symptoms.
resultsThirty-four patients (mean age 58.1 years; male 50%) were enrolled. At baseline, mean IOP was 13.6 ± 2.7 mmHg (right eye, OD) and 13.4 ± 2.7 mmHg (left eye, OS). At week 6, PF-timolol led to a greater reduction in IOP in the OD vs P-timolol (-1.3 ± 1.5 mmHg vs -0.2 ± 1.2 mmHg; p = 0.004), whereas no significant difference was observed in the OS ( p = 0.08). At week 12, the mean IOP did not differ between the two groups for both eyes. TBUT increased in the PF-timolol group but decreased in the P-timolol group ( p = 0.006), and the change from baseline favored PF-timolol ( p = 0.001). The SPK score decreased significantly more in the OD in the PF-timolol group than P-timolol group (-0.4 ± 0.8 4 vs 0.2 ± 1.1; p = 0.03). S ystemic vital signs remained stable throughout the study. Patient-reported symptoms were comparable between groups.
conclusionPF-timolol eye drops achieved a greater IOP reduction at week 6 but showed comparable efficacy to P-timolol by week 12, while providing additional advantages in ocular safety outcomes and subjective tolerability. PF-timolol offers an effective and safer option for glaucoma management, particularly in patients sensitive to preservatives.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.