Glaucoma in pregnant women: features of treatment

Abstract

This review provides information on the features, incidence, pathogenetic mechanism, possibilities of conservative, laser and surgical treatment of glaucoma in pregnant women. The purpose of this literature review is to study the features of managing patients with glaucoma during pregnancy. Glaucoma is a large group of eye diseases characterized by a gradual development of visual impairments and atrophy of the optic nerve. The pathology is most common among the population over 40 years old, but due to the advancement of reproductive technologies, the availability of diagnostic methods, as well as high clinical awareness, the frequency of ophthalmologists managing glaucoma in pregnant women increases. Elevated intraocular pressure in pregnant women is becoming more common and, therefore, is an urgent problem. There is a trend towards an increase in the number of pregnant women who experienced elevated intraocular pressure for the first time. Previously identified pathology in childhood or secondary glaucoma due to previous ophthalmic diseases or severe somatic pathology is a special category of patients. Such patients are encountered regularly and require close supervision by both an ophthalmologist and a gynecologist. The evidence base for antiglaucoma drugs is small; there are clinical experiments on animals, which results do not always carry over to humans, and retrospective studies. The doctor's arsenal presently includes a number of drugs that have possible side effects for the fetus, as well as laser and surgical treatment. There is no standard treatment, so each case should be considered individually with an understanding of the physiology, mechanism of action of the drugs and their possible effects. Therefore, glaucoma during pregnancy and lactation is a serious medical problem, and its solution depends on interdisciplinary medical approach.