The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence and Persistence to Glaucoma Therapy: A Retrospective…

Cohort studyAdvances in therapy· Jul 2026

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence and Persistence to Glaucoma Therapy: A Retrospective Italian Cohort Study.

Alessia Antonella Galbussera, Mauro Tettamanti, Ida Fortino … Luciano Quaranta

GlaucomaCohort studyClinical practiceQ1IF 4.5

Established glaucoma patients were more likely to stop treatment during the pandemic

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence and Persistence to Glaucoma Therapy: A Retrospective Italian Cohort Study.

Alessia Antonella Galbussera … Luciano Quaranta

Advances in therapy · Jul 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine healthcare delivery worldwide.

Purpose

We aimed to quantify the pandemic's impact on medication adherence and persistence using a large Italian administrative database.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using healthcare databases from Lombardy, Italy.

n = 111,373 established patients

Results

more established patients stopped their eye drops during the pandemic

HR 1.17 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.18)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

68.9%.

This finding was consistent in newly diagnosed-only sensitivity analyses (aHR 1.13, 95% CI 1.08-1.18).

New therapy initiations declined by 37% in 2020 (1.0 per thousand at-risk population) compared to 2018 (1.6 per thousand).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

The pandemic was associated with significant disruptions to glaucoma therapy, including increased discontinuation among established patients and a marked reduction in new treatment initiations.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings highlight the vulnerability of daily drop-based regimens to healthcare system disruptions. More resilient therapeutic approaches merit further consideration.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence and Persistence to Glaucoma Therapy: A Retrospective Italian Cohort Study.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence and Persistence to Glaucoma Therapy: A Retrospective Italian Cohort Study.

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