Adherence to Topical Glaucoma Medication During Hospitalization

PURPOSETo describe the patterns and predictors of adherence to topical glaucoma medication during hospitalization for medical disease. DESIGNRetrospective, nonrandomized, and comparative case-series. METHODSMedical records of all the patients hospitalized with a secondary diagnosis of glaucoma between January 2006 and March 2009 were reviewed. Baseline characteristics of all patients were recorded including sex, ethnicity, age, primary medical diagnosis, and the length of stay. The outpatient topical glaucoma medications known on admission and prescribed at the time of admission were recorded, and the numbers of outpatient and inpatient systemic medications were tracked. Adherence was defined as receiving more than 75% of the expected doses. The patient discharge instructions were also reviewed. RESULTSOf the 184 patients included, 98 (53%) were female, 102 (55%) were African-American, and the mean age was 78.3 (±11.7) years old. The most common reason for hospitalization was cardiovascular disease and the median length of stay was 9.5 days. Adherence was achieved in 51.6% of patients. Knowing (P