Acrylic IOLs cause least inflammation in eyes with uveitis, study finds

ALICANTE, Spain — Hydrophobic acrylic IOLs caused less inflammation in uveitic eyes than IOLs of other materials in an international comparative study.

Better visual outcomes and lower complication rates were found with hydrophobic acrylic IOLs in eyes with uveitis that underwent phacoemulsification and IOL implantation, according to the study, by the International Ocular Inflammation Society Study Group of Uveitic Cataract Surgery.

Jorge Alió, MD, and others randomized 140 eyes of 140 patients scheduled to undergo phaco to receive IOLs of various materials. Forty-eight patients received a hydrophobic acrylic lens, 44 received a silicone lens, 26 received a PMMA lens and 22 received a heparin-surface-modified PMMA lens. Pre- and postoperative grading and control of intraocular inflammation were performed.

At final follow-up, 64 eyes had a best corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better, a highly significant improvement over preop levels (P < .0001). One day postop, the acrylic group had the lowest inflammation grades and the silicone group had the highest. The acrylic group continued to have the lowest inflammation grade values until the 3-month follow-up. The acrylic and the heparin PMMA lenses had the lowest incidence of inflammation relapse.

Posterior capsular opacification developed in 48 eyes, with the highest incidence in the silicone group.

The study is published in the December issue of Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.