Short-term Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Cataract-combined Surgery with iStent versus iStent Inject

Purpose: To analyze the therapeutic effects, prognostic factors, and complications that occurred after iStent (R) or iStent inject (R) implantation in South Korean glaucoma patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42 eyes of South Korean glaucoma patients, who were followed-up for more than 6 months after iStent (R) or iStent inject (R) implantation alone or combined with cataract surgery. Surgical success was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) <= 21 mmHg and an IOP reduction >= 20% from preoperative IOP levels. Results: The cumulative success rate at 6 months after surgery was 45.3 +/- 8.1% for iStent inject (R) alone (group A), 28.6 +/- 13.1% for iStent (R) alone (group B), 81.2 +/- 6.8% for iStent inject (R) combined with cataract surgery (group A-1), and 27.3 +/- 21.8% for iStent (R) combined with cataract surgery (group B-1). Group A-1 showed a higher success rate than group B-1 (p = 0.007); the difference in success rates between groups A and B was not statistically significant (p = 0.579). When the success prognostic factors were analyzed by Cox regression analysis, the results showed that a higher preoperative IOP was associated with a higher surgical success rate (hazard ratio 0.80, p = 0.02). Conclusions: In our patient group, iStent inject (R) was more effective than iStent (R) in combination with cataract surgery. The higher the preoperative IOP, the higher the surgical success rate; the results were significant.