Acceptance & Barriers to Trabeculectomy among patients with Glaucoma: A Cross-sectional study

Objective: This study aimed to assess the level of acceptance about trabeculectomy and to determine patient-perceived barriers ‎to trabeculectomy among glaucoma patients attending Ophthalmology clinic at Chakwal. ‎. ‎ Study Design: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted. Place and duration of study: A hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study was done among 32 glaucoma patients who visited ‎Munawar Memorial Hospital Chakwal Out Patient Department (OPD) during September – November ‎‎2023. ‎ Material and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study was done among 32 glaucoma patients who visited ‎Munawar Memorial Hospital Chakwal Out Patient Department (OPD) during September – November ‎‎2023. Informed consent for this research was formally sought from Hospital administrators and from ‎study participants. The glaucoma cases were 30-80 years old and were recommended by ‎ophthalmologist to undergo trabeculectomy and were enrolled in the study through consecutive non-‎probability sampling. All study participants were subjected to detailed ophthalmic examination. Visual ‎acuity and intraocular pressure were also gauged. A self-administered structured questionnaire was ‎used to gather responses of the glaucoma patients pertaining to acceptance and barriers to ‎trabeculectomy. Data was analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2019 software. Descriptive statistics were ‎applied. ‎ Results: Mean age of the 32 glaucoma cases who were recommended trabeculectomy was 62 ± 4.3 years and ‎‎56.3% of them were females. 66.7% patients were aware about their type of glaucoma and healthcare ‎implications of trabeculectomy. About 54% cases were willing to undergo trabeculectomy while 8.4% ‎were not at all willing for this surgery. Surgery expenditure and fear of becoming blind were the key ‎barriers to trabeculectomy. ‎ Conclusion: ‎ Most of the recommended glaucoma patients were willing to undergo trabeculectomy for rectification ‎of their visual impairment. Cost of treatment and fear of post-operative blindness were the chief ‎barriers to trabeculectomy. Keywords: barriers, glaucoma, trabeculectomy