This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Primary probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction has high success rate
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The most appropriate treatment regimen for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction is primary probing, which has a high success rate and is not adversely affected by increasing age, according to a study.
The retrospective observational analysis included 246 eyes of 177 patients who underwent probing with or without intubation at Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. All patients were younger than 10 years, with a mean age of 2.1 years.
After primary probing, 76% of eyes had a successful outcome and 23% of eyes underwent a secondary intervention. Gender, age and complexity of the obstruction were not factors in success or failure after the first intervention.
Of those eyes that underwent a secondary intervention, 67% had successful probing and 92% had successful intubation.
“A comparative analysis between the two groups confirms that patients who underwent intubation versus probing as a secondary intervention following a failed initial probing for [congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction] were significantly more likely to have a successful outcome (91.7% vs. 66.7%, P = .037),” the study authors wrote.
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
Collapse
Napier ML, et al. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2016;doi:10.3928/01913913-20160629-01.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts