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Corneal changes more pronounced in diabetics after cataract surgery
Eyes of patients with diabetes developed more corneal endothelial damage after cataract surgery than eyes of patients without diabetes, a study found. In addition, recovery from corneal edema in the study was slower after cataract surgery in diabetic patients than in nondiabetic patients.
Soichi Morikubo, MD, and colleagues at Fukui University in Japan evaluated the level of corneal endothelial damage after cataract surgery in 93 eyes of patients with type 2 diabetes and 93 eyes of patients without diabetes. Central corneal thickness was measured before surgery and at 1 day, 1 week and 1 month after surgery. Endothelial cell density was measured using noncontact specular microscopy.
No significant differences between the two groups were seen in any preoperative measurement. The increase in corneal thickness at 1 month postop was significantly higher in the patients with diabetes than in those without. Corneal endothelial cell loss was significantly higher in the group with diabetes than in the control group at 1 day and 1 week postop.
The study is published in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.