Clinical Course of Bimatoprost-Induced Periocular Skin Changes in Caucasians
Presented as a poster at: American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, October 2004, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Received 30 August 2005; accepted 26 May 2006. published online 25 August 2006.
Purpose
To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of bimatoprost-induced periocular skin hyperpigmentation in Caucasians.
Design
Retrospective noncomparative case series.
Participants
Thirty-seven Caucasian patients (29 female, 8 male) with a diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (n = 28) or ocular hypertension (n = 9) in whom cosmetically noticeable periocular skin pigmentation developed with bimatoprost therapy.
Methods
An unbiased examiner performed a retrospective chart analysis of patients in whom periocular skin hyperpigmentation developed after starting bimatoprost therapy. Data collected included patient demographics, diagnosis, medication history, dates of starting and stopping bimatoprost treatment, and subjective assessment of the periocular hyperpigmentation at initial detection and follow-up visits.
Main Outcome Measures
Periocular hyperpigmentation was graded using an arbitrary scale from 0 to 3. The number of days to the onset of hyperpigmentation and to pigment resolution was determined and their associations to demographic and other clinical parameters were analyzed.
Results
Patients had variable grades of periocular hyperpigmentation at presentation (mean, 1.27±0.50; range, 1–2.5). Bimatoprost-induced periocular hyperpigmentation appeared most frequently between 3 and 6 months after initiation of bimatoprost therapy (277±138 days). Resolution of skin hyperpigmentation was noted most frequently between 3 and 12 months (205±97 days); however, there was a wide range of 61 to 472 days. Thirty-three of the 37 patients had complete resolution of the periocular hyperpigmentation.
Conclusions
Bimatoprost use is associated with periocular skin hyperpigmentation in Caucasians with variable time of onset. The periocular hyperpigmentation appears gradually, but in this series was completely reversible on discontinuation of bimatoprost.
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
2Arlington Eye Physicians, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Correspondence to Smajo Osmanovic, MD, PhD, Arlington Eye Physicians, 1614 West Central Road, Suite 100, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.
Manuscript no. 2005-827.
The authors have no conflicts of interest with regard to the article.
Supported by gifts from Doris Semler, Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Sandra Shield, Barrington Hills, Illinois.
ABSTRACT