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NSAID reduces CME, improves vision after cataract surgery
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LAS VEGAS — A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug reduced the incidence of retinal thickening and improved visual outcomes in patients undergoing uncomplicated cataract surgery, according to a presentation here.
In a multicenter study, John Wittpenn, MD, and colleagues evaluated the effect of perioperative application of Acular LS (ketorolac tromethamine 0.4%, Allergan) plus a topical steroid, compared to steroid alone, in patients without apparent risk factors undergoing cataract surgery. The study authors presented their results in a poster at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.
The study included 546 eyes of 546 patients randomly assigned to receive either ketorolac or placebo pre- and postoperatively. All patients also received prednisolone acetate. The presence of cystoid macular edema was assessed by the masked investigators and by a masked retina specialist who reviewed optical coherence tomography images.
The researchers found that ketorolac reduced the incidence of postop retinal thickening, which therefore improved visual outcomes.
"Patients treated with ketorolac/steroid had significantly less mean retinal thickening than did patients treated with steroid only," the study authors said.
Patients using steroid only were more likely to have visual outcomes worse than 20/40 at 1 month preoperatively than patients who received the NSAID plus steroid.