Effect of Corticosteroids on Intraocular Pressure and Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

The clinical significance of the ocular hypertension induced by topical steroid application is ultimately dependent upon the nature and magnitude of its effect on visual function. It has been shown in preceding publications that the effect of dexamethasone on aqueous humor dynamics was reversible in nature^1,2; complete recovery of the pretreatment values of intraocular pressure and outflow facility was achieved one to two weeks after the cessation of dexamethasone application in all the cases studied. It should be pointed out, in this respect, that the duration of dexamethasone application in these studies did not exceed, in general, four to five weeks. The possibility that longer duration of drug application and of hypertension might result in a permanent change in outflow facility has not been definitively ruled out. The relationship between intraocular pressure level and visual field damage is not a simple one. The involved variables and their relative contribution