Abstract
Purpose :
Betadine is instilled topically on the eye prior to ocular surgical procedures to decrease the risk of endophthalmitis. Its effects on functional vision and the cornea have not been determined. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 5% betadine on vision function, corneal integrity and subjective complaints.
Methods :
Twenty subjects were chosen to participate in this study (Ten young: 25.8 +/- 2.94; and ten old: 58.2 +/- 5.59). LogMAR acuity, contrast sensitivity, corneal fluorescein staining, and the Schein dry eye questionnaire were measured before and after 60 µl of 5% betadine was applied to one eye, randomly chosen, (baseline, 5, 30, and 60 minutes and 4 and 24 hours post-application). Contrast sensitivity at 14 cpd was determined with a spatial two-alternative, forced choice procedure (BeethovenTM software). The NEI grid was used to grade corneal staining. Subjective complaints were monitored using the Schein dry eye questionnaire.
Results :
The data were analyzed with an ANOVA (linear mixed-effects model). The logMAR acuity was significantly reduced from baseline at the 30 and 60 minute visits (all p values < 0.05) and contrast sensitivity was reduced from baseline at 5, 30, and 60 minutes after betadine application (all p values < 0.0001). Total corneal staining, maximum NEI sector staining, and the Schein dry eye questionnaire were significantly different from baseline at every visit (all p values < 0.05).
Conclusions :
There was an increase in corneal staining and subjective complaints that lasted 24 hours and a decrease in functional vision that lasted 1 hour after 5% betadine instillation. The central corneal staining cleared more rapidly than the peripheral cornea; therefore, visual acuity recovered more quickly than overall corneal staining and subjective complaints. This may have resulted from pooling of Betadine at the limbus and lid margins. 5% Betadine application significantly affects corneal integrity which decreases functional vision and increases subjective complaints.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.