To compare the clinical outcomes between patients undergoing argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) and those undergoing selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT).

Sixty-one eyes of 61 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who were treated with more than 1 kind of antiglaucoma medication eye drop were enrolled in this study. Thirty-five eyes of 35 patients were treated with argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT). Twenty-six eyes of 26 patients were treated with selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT). The mean IOP at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months and the success rate of treatment at the 12-month follow-up period were evaluated in all patients.

At 12 months postoperative, the ALT group had a mean IOP of 16.53±2.58 mmHg with a mean IOP reduction of 35.27%, while the SLT group had a mean IOP of 18.40±5.61 mmHg with a mean IOP reduction of 17.37%. The success rates of treatment defined as definition 1 were 62.85% in ALT and 62.50% in SLT, and the success rates defined as definition 2 were 51.42% in ALT and 46.15% in SLT.

There were no significant differences in the IOP lowering effect or success rates between the ALT and SLT patients at 12 months postoperatively.