This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
ASCRS forms Flomax working group
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
FAIRFAX, Va. — The identification of ocular side effects associated with use of the drug tamsulosin has led the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons to form a working group to further study the adverse reactions, the society announced in a press release.
ASCRS formed the Flomax Working Group following an ASCRS physician advisory concerning intraoperative floppy iris syndrome, a newly identified syndrome that appears to be associated with the use of Flomax (tamsulosin, Boehringer Ingelheim). The group will investigate problems associated with the drug and develop recommendations for clinicians and for drug regulators.
Flomax is “one of the most effective and widely prescribed drugs for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy” in men, according to the ASCRS release, and it is also often prescribed off-label for women with urinary retention.
David F. Chang, MD, is heading a multicenter investigation of cataract surgery outcomes to determine if there is an increased complication rate in patients who use Flomax. He said the group hopes to be able to report the complication rate and operative results in 100 cases “fairly quickly.”
For more on intraoperative floppy iris syndrome, click here.