Aids for Eye Drop Administration

• Published in: Survey of ophthalmology Vol. 62; no. 3; pp. 332 - 345
• Main Authors: Davies, Isaiah, BS, Williams, Andrew M., MD, Muir, Kelly W., MD, MHSc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.05.2017
• Subjects: adherence; administration aids; Administration, Topical; compliance; Drug Packaging - instrumentation; glaucoma; Humans; medical devices; Medication Adherence; ophthalmic solutions; Ophthalmic Solutions - administration & dosage; Ophthalmology; Self Administration - instrumentation; self-administration; ophthalmic solutions; medical devices; self-administration; adherence; administration aids; compliance; glaucoma
• ISSN: 0039-6257; 1879-3304
• DOI: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2016.12.009

Abstract One aspect to eye drop adherence is successful instillation of the drops; however, it is well known that many patients struggle with this task. Difficulties may include aiming their drops, extending their neck, preventing excess drop leakage, avoiding contamination of the bottle tip, and generating enough force to expel a drop from the bottle. Instillation aids are devices that aim to ameliorate one or more of these barriers. We review the literature on instillation aids in order to describe the options available to patients and to report evaluations of their efficacy. The majority of instillation aids studied improved objective or subjective outcomes of eye drop instillation, including improved rates of successful administration and increased patient satisfaction compared to standard eye drop bottles. Although further research is warranted, instillation aids may be an underutilized resource for the many patients who struggle to administer their own eye drops.