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Long-term IOP control better maintained with phaco than ECCE after trab
OXFORD, England — Phacoemulsification provided better long-term intraocular pressure control than extracapsular cataract extraction in patients with trabeculectomy, according to a study here. However, there was not a significant difference in postop IOP between the two cataract procedures, the study found.
Physicians at Oxford Eye Hospital compared 28 patients who had undergone phaco with IOL implantation at least 3 months after trabeculectomy to 28 similar patients who had undergone ECCE with IOL implantation. IOP was measured in both groups of patients for up to 2 years after cataract extraction.
The mean IOP in the phaco group did not differ significantly from the mean IOP before cataract extraction at any interval. Twelve months after cataract extraction, the mean IOP in the ECCE group was significantly higher than preoperatively. However, the mean IOP did not differ between the groups over time.
As demonstrated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the log-rank test, better long-term IOP control was achieved by the phaco group.
The study is published in the December issue of Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.