Abstract
Purpose: :
Terazosin has been reported to not pose a significantly higher risk of complications in cataract surgery, unlike the use of Tamsulosin. The purpose was to determine if Terazosin poses a higher risk of complications and longer O.R. time in patients undergoing cataract surgery compared to patients not on Terazosin.
Methods: :
733 male patient consecutive resident supervised cataract operations from 04-23-2004 to 11-16-2007 were retrospectively reviewed for incidence of vitreous loss, iris prolapse, use of Terazosin or Tamsulosin, length of surgery, age of patient, and need for iris hooks.
Results: :
136 of the 733 male patients were taking Terazosin at the time of their cataract surgery (19% prevalence) with mean age of 75 years. 36 of these 136 patients on Terazosin had vitreous loss during their cataract surgery (26% incidence). 8 patients had iris prolapse (6% incidence), and 3 required iris hooks. Average O.R. time was prolonged to 67 minutes compared to 42 minutes in patients having no complications during their surgery. 21 patients on Tamsulosin had a 43% incidence of vitreous loss. 576 patients on no B.P.H. medication had a 14% incidence of vitreous loss. (Chi square P-Value=0.033).
Conclusions: :
Cataract surgery on patients receiving Terazosin posed a higher risk for vitreous loss and other complications than what has been reported. Vitreous loss rate of 26% in patients receiving Terazosin, 43% in patients receiving Tamsulosin, and 14% in patients on no B.P.H. medication, signifies that the surgeon must be aware of medications that male patients take for benign prostatic hypertrophy, especially since use of these medications is on the rise. In this study, prevalence of Terazosin increased over the past 3 years from 13% to 18% to 20%.
Keywords: cataract • treatment outcomes of cataract surgery