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Editors Selection IGR 23-2

Intraocular Pressure: IOP fluctuations in wind instrument players

Comment by Theodore Krupin on:

28002 Intraocular pressure fluctuations in professional brass and woodwind musicians during common playing conditions, Schmidtmann G; Jahnke S; Seidel EJ et al., Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2011; 1-7

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Schmidtmann et al. (143) investigated the effect of IOP and blood pressure (BP) in professional musicians during playing brass (n = 27) or woodwind (n = 15) instruments. Our group (Grewal et al. 1995) reported IOP increased after one minute of blowing high notes, including patients with low-pressure glaucoma. The authors report brass players showed elevation of IOP

The temporary and potential dramatic elevations and fluctuations of IOP place wind instrument players at increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma

and BP during ten minutes at high and middle frequency while woodwind players (e.g., oboe) had significant increase only at high frequencies. 23 of 37 (62%) of brass players had IOP elevations > 5 and 15 (41%) had increases > 10. The temporary and potential dramatic elevations and fluctuations of IOP place wind instrument players at increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma.

Since 1994, I have queried all my glaucoma patients if they play brass or woodwind instruments and enter a positive response in their chart

Some of these individuals also may manifest glaucoma progression with presumed 'controlled' IOP measured in the office visit. Since 1994, I have queried all my glaucoma patients if they play brass or woodwind instruments and enter a positive response in their chart.

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