An Accurate Comparison of Bimatoprost's Efficacy and Adverse Effects

I am concerned that the recent article comparing various doses of bimatoprost with both timolol maleate and a vehicle control¹ may not fully represent all the data available to the authors. Laibovitz et al appear to only report data that are favorable to bimatoprost while neglecting other data that might produce a more balanced article.

The authors have conducted at least 2 similar studies,² the first involving 60 patients (12 patients randomized to each of the treatment groups) for 1 week and the second involving 100 patients (20 patients randomized to each of the same treatment groups) who were followed for 1 month.¹ In the study published in the July 2001 issue of the ARCHIVES, the authors do not discuss both investigations and choose to report just the second. The differences between these 2 short-term studies are minor and include dosing, duration of the study (1 week vs 1 month), and the frequency with which a technician personally administered the medications (in the 1-week study, all drops were given by a technician, and in the present study, a technician actually administered the medication only in the evening before the next study visit).