Abstract
Purpose: :
Phacoemulsification has become a routine surgery with low complications rate; hence, the functional outcome is more conditioned by operative trauma. The aim of this study is to compare the influence of prednisolone acetate 1% eye drops in preserving corneal endothelial damage after surgery.
Methods: :
One hundred and fifth patients with senile cataracts grade 1 (soft nucleus) were included. Exclusion criteria were history of corneal disease, ocular trauma and inflammation. All surgeries were performed by the same surgeon with clear corneal incision and standard technique. Endothelial densities of the cornea were measured with specular microscopy before and three months after surgery. Patients were divided in three groups (fifth patients each group) using predinisolone acetate 1% eye drops quid starting 15 minutes (group 1) and 24h (group 2) after surgery for two weeks. The third group was treated with vehicle drops only quid also for two weeks
Results: :
The initial preoperative mean cell count for the entire sample was 2586. An average 5,07% (2,45% to 7,75%) reduction in cell count was recorded by 3 months postoperatively in group one, 7,89% (4,56% to 9,75%) in group two and 15,75% (10,76 to 18,87) in group three.
Conclusions: :
Prednisolone acetate 1% eye drops should be considered in order to control post operative inflammation. Our data suggests that the early treatment appears to be more effective in order to avoid endothelial cell loss.
Keywords: cataract • cornea: endothelium • drug toxicity/drug effects