Patients, doctors report satisfaction with steroid insert
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Results from three vehicle-controlled phase 3 studies indicated that Dextenza was easy to insert and monitor and was well-accepted by patients.
Mitch Ibach, OD, FAAO, and colleagues reported in a poster here at the American Academy of Optometry meeting that they evaluated 923 subjects who had undergone cataract surgery and were randomized to receive either Dextenza (dexamethasone ophthalmic insert, Ocular Therapeutix) or placebo immediately afterwards.
The clinicians stated that Dextenza was easy or moderately easy to insert and was visualized at day 14 in nearly all 538 eyes that received it.
“A statistically significant amount of patients had less discomfort afterwards and relief of pain, and more than 90% of patients said that they would want this if they had cataract surgery again,” Ibach told Primary Care Optometry News.
Patients also said they thought the insert helped compliance, according to the study abstract.
Dextenza is FDA-approved for postoperative inflammation and pain after cataract surgery, Ibach said.
It is an intracanalicular insert that delivers a 0.4-mg dose of preservative-free dexamethasone for up to 30 days and is designed to eliminate the need for corticosteroid drops, according to the poster.
Ibach told PCON that the insert’s hydrogel technology causes it “to swell when it hits water, so it’s one-size-fits-all.” – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Reference:
Ibach M, et al. Patient preference and physician experience with Dextenza (dexamethasone ophthalmic insert, 0.4 mg), a novel sustained release intracanalicular insert for the treatment of postoperative pain and inflammation following cataract surgery. Presented at: American Academy of Optometry meeting; Orlando, Fla.; Oct. 17-22, 2019.
Disclosure: Ibach reports he is a consultant for Ocular Therapeutix.