A short-term randomized clinical trial of daily versus alternate day use of travoprost 0.004% in the treatment of ocular hypertension.

Purpose: To compare the daily versus the alternate day use of travoprost 0.004% in lowering the intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with ocular hypertension.
Methods: Fourteen patients with ocular hypertension in both eyes have been randomly assigned to receive travoprost 0.004% once a day in 1 eye and once every other day in the other eye. The main outcome measure was change in the mean of the IOPs measured at 9:00 AM, and 4:00 PM between baseline (before treatment) and measurement of IOPs at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment.
Results: After 3 months of treatment, daily use of travoprost 0.004% significantly reduced IOP (mean±standard error of mean) by 6.1±0.5 mmHg (P<0.001) and alternate day use by 5.9±0.3 mmHg (P< 0.001) adjusted from an overall baseline of 24.3±0.5 mm Hg. The difference in the IOP-lowering effect was not statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusions: Alternate day use of travoprost 0.004% was as safe and effective as its daily use in lowering the IOP in patients with ocular hypertension.