Dear editor
I read, with great interest, the paper on the intraocular pressure-lowering properties of intravenous paracetamol (acetaminophen) recently published in this journal by van den Heever and Meyer.1 The authors documented a decrease from baseline in mean intraocular pressure of 15.7% in a 6-hour time interval following intravenous paracetamol administration. This mean decrease was moderate but relevant when compared to, for example, topical timolol or oral acetazolamide. Although the authors provided potential relevant mechanistic arguments in support of a link between paracetamol administration and intraocular pressure through the endocannabinoid system, we would like to draw attention to the fact that – when intravenous paracetamol is administered – a relevant amount of mannitol is coadministered.

doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S118752, hdl.handle.net/1765/93500
Clinical Ophthalmology
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Allegaert, K. (2016). Intravenous paracetamol and intraocular pressure reduction: Mannitol may also be involved. Clinical Ophthalmology, 10, 1775–1777. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S118752