The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)

---

An ounce of eye drops might be worth a pound of prevention. In the 2002 OHTS trial, subjects with ocular hypertension (but not glaucoma) were randomized to observation or to topical treatment to reduce IOP by 20% and to <24 mmHg. Subjects were monitored for the development of glaucoma.

Key Points:

• At 60 months, 4.4% of subjects in the treatment group and 9.5% in the observation group developed POAG (P < 0.0001).
• Treatment reduced IOP in ocular hypertensive subjects from a mean of 25 mmHg to a mean of 19 mmHg while maintaining a favorable safety profile.  

Overall, the landmark OHTS trial showed that treating ocular hypertension reduced the risk of developing POAG by more than half. Clinicians should consider treatment in ocular hypertensive patients with moderate to high risk of developing glaucoma.