Oxymetazoline 0.1% is effective non-surgical treatment for acquired ptosis

Oxymetazoline 0.1% produces a significant change in upper eyelid in patients with acquired blepharoptosis as soon as 5 minutes after administration, according to data from a pooled analysis.

In the 2 prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 studies, patients with acquired blepharoptosis received either oxymetazoline 0.1% eye drops (n = 203) or placebo eye drops (n = 101) daily for 42 days.

On day 1, mean changes from baseline to 5 minutes after administration were 0.59 ± 0.72 mm in the oxymetazoline 0.1% group and 0.20 ± 0.57 mm in the control group. At 15 minutes post-administration, mean changes were 0.93 ± 0.81 mm and 0.32 ± 0.64 mm, respectively.

Mean changes from baseline 5 and 15 minutes after administration on day 14 were 0.77 ± 0.85 mm in the treatment group and 0.42 ± 0.78 mm in the control group and 1.11 ± 0.92 mm and 0.41 ± 0.83 mm, respectively. On day 42 changes were 0.86 ± 0.85 mm and 0.42 ± 0.80 mm at 5 minutes and 1.04 ± 0.91 mm and 0.47 ± 0.93 mm at 15 minutes, respectively.

At 2–6 hours on days 1 and 14, significant improvements were seen in the treatment group compared to the placebo group.

At all time points studied, more patients a positive response to treatment oxymetazoline 0.1% than with placebo.

Reference
Bacharach J, Wirta DL, Smyth-Medina R, et al. Rapid and Sustained Eyelid Elevation in Acquired Blepharoptosis with Oxymetazoline 0.1%: Randomized Phase 3 Trial Results. Clin Ophthalmol. 2021;15:2743-2751. Published 2021 Jun 25. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S306155