Author's Reply to Comments to: Comparison of Eyedrop Instillation Technique with and without a Delivery Device in Inexperienced Patients

Dear Editor,

We appreciate the interest our work has generated. The main purpose of our study (1) was to compare the instillation of eyedrops with and without Xal-Ease® delivery device in inexperienced patients. The efficacy of topical glaucoma therapy depends on patient adherence and compliance. Inability to correctly instill the eyedrops in an efficient and safe manner is a major challenge to glaucoma care. Our study has shown that Xal-Ease® successfully decreases mechanical contact of the tip of the bottle, which is considered the most frequent error in eyedrop administration.

The correct identification of medications is also a prerequisite to achieving adherence to therapy and this is of particular importance among glaucoma patients taking multiple eyedrops with unique dosing schedules. The Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Ophthalmology developed a cap color code to help keep different classes of medications identifiable to both physicians and patients (2). However, patients with glaucoma can develop acquired color vision deficiency, and a considerable proportion of male patients may have inherited color vision deficiency; therefore we agree there is a need for a better system by which patients with glaucoma or other diseases can identify their many eyedrop medications (2). The use of the sleeves with different textures and scents seems to be an excellent way to facilitate the identification of the different eyedrop bottles.