Topical Olopatadine in the Treatment of Allergic Conjunctivitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of topical olopatadine versus placebo and other topical anti-allergic medications in treating allergic conjunctivitis.

Methods: We systematically searched the literature for randomized-controlled trials that included patients with allergic conjunctivitis, compared olopatadine versus placebo or alternative anti-allergic medications, and examined itch, conjunctival hyperemia, composite symptom or sign scores, and/or occurrence of adverse events. We assessed the safety and efficacy of topical olopatadine when compared with placebo or alternative anti-allergic medications using meta-analysis.

Results: When compared with placebo, topical olopatadine is associated with a pooled-mean difference (MD) in ocular itch of -1.33 (p < 0.00001) and ocular hyperemia of -0.92 (p < 0.00001). When compared with other agents, olopatadine was inferior to alcaftadine on ocular itch (pooled-MD = 0.39; p < 0.00001) but comparable with epinastine and ketotifen.

Conclusions: Topical olopatadine is a safe and effective treatment modality for allergic conjunctivitis, whereas alcaftadine appears to be superior to olopatadine in reducing ocular itch.