Clinical profile of secondary glaucoma subtypes in patients attending ophthalmology department at Erbil Teaching Hospital, Erbil, Iraq

Background and objective: As Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, this study aims to determine the most common factors that leads to the development of secondary glaucoma in patients attending the Outpatient Ophthalmology Department. Methods: A hospital based prospective cross-sectional study which involved 100 patients. The study was conducted in ophthalmology department of Erbil Teaching Hospital in Erbil city from June 2021 till April 2022. The participants were diagnosed with secondary glaucoma. Results: Hundred patients were included in the study, their mean age (SD) was 52.3 (15.1) years, the median was 55.5 years, and the age range was 16 to 82 years. The largest proportion of the sample (32%) were aged 60-69 years, and more than half (61%) were males. The most common subtypes of secondary glaucoma were post ocular surgery (26%), the types of the operations that led to secondary glaucoma were pars plana vitrectomy (38.5%), cataract surgery (46.2%), and corneal surgery (15.4%). Post traumatic glaucoma represents (23%), the types of ocular pathologies that occurred after trauma were as follows: angle recession (43.5%), cataract (21.7%), lens subluxation (8.7%), retinal detachment (8.7%), hyphema (8.7%), and sphincter tear (8.7%). Drug induced glaucoma was present in (15%) of study population, The majority (86.7%) of patients were taking corticosteroids, 6.7% were taking tranquilizers, and 6.7% were taking other drugs. Pseudoexfoliative (PEX) glaucoma was found in 14% of all Study population. This study has found that Neovascular glaucoma was 12% (and had the highest baseline IOP among the other types of secondary glaucoma) while Inflammatory glaucoma was the least type of secondary glaucoma in this study (10%). Conclusion: Secondary glaucoma is mostly monocular in nature. Post ocular surgery glaucoma was the leading cause of secondary glaucoma followed by post Traumatic glaucoma, and drug induced glaucoma is the third leading cause for secondary glaucoma in our society. The knowledge of secondary cause of glaucoma helps early detection and prompt treatment of these types of glaucoma. Keywords: Secondary Glaucoma; Pseudoexfoliation syndrome; Intraocular pressure; Trauma; Steroid drugs; Erbil city.