Effects of 0.5% and 0.25% Apraclonidine on Postoperative Intraocular Hypertension after Cataract Extraction

Comparative efficacy of acetazolamide and apraclonidine in the control of intraocular pressure following phacoemulsification

PURPOSE

The purpose of our study was to compare the effects of systemically administered acetazolamide and topical apraclonidine 0.5% in the control of intraocular pressure (IOP) following phacoemulsification of senile cataracts.

SETTING

The study was conducted on patients affected by cataract and followed at the Department of Ophthalmology.

METHODS

Seventy-eight eyes in 78 patients were selected. Twenty-six eyes were randomly assigned to postoperative treatment with topical apraclonidine 0.5%, 26 received oral acetazolamide and the remaining 26 received no hypotensive treatment (control group). Statistical analyses were performed mainly by means of analyis of variance.

RESULTS

IOPs measured 24 h after surgery were significantly (p = 0.01) lower in the apraclonidine group compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our double-blind prospective study conducted on patients randomly assigned to treatment with apraclonidine or acetazolamide shows that the former drug is undoubtedly effective in the prevention of IOP increases following phacoemulsification. IOPs recorded in patients treated with this drug were lower than those observed in the acetazolamide and the control groups. Considering the lower risk of toxicity associated with topical administration, apraclonidine 0.5% seems to be preferable to oral acetazolamide in this postoperative setting.

The effect of latanoprost, bimatoprost, and travoprost on intraocular pressure after cataract surgery

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative topical latanoprost, bimatoprost, and travoprost administration on postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) after phacoemulsification and posterior chamber intraocular lens (PC IOL) implantation.

METHODS

This prospective, randomized, double-masked study included 120 eyes of 120 consecutive, normotensive, uncomplicated cataract patients having phacoemulsification surgery with PC IOL implantation. They were randomized into 1 of 4 treatment groups, each of which had 30 patients. Two (2) h before the surgery, the patients received 0.005% latanoprost (Group 1), 0.004% bimatoprost (Group 2), 0.03% travoprost (Group 3), or placebo (Group 4, artificial tears). IOP was measured at preoperative, 4, 8, and 24 h postoperative with a Goldmann applanation tonometer. The anterior chamber was examined postoperatively 24 h for levels of cell and flare using slit-lamp biomicroscopy.

RESULTS

The preoperative mean IOP was not statistically significant different among the four groups. In Groups 1 and 3, the mean IOP at 4, 8 and 24 h were significantly lower than the control (Group 4; P < 0.05). However, in Group 2, there was no significant difference in IOP during the study period, compared to the control (Group 4; P > 0.05). In addition, the mean postoperative IOP at 24 h in Groups 1 and 3 were significantly lower than the preoperative IOP (P < 0.05). No severe anterior chamber reaction was observed in any group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that a single-dose topical of latanoprost and travoprost can prevent early postoperative IOP elevation after phacoemulsification surgery without any sideeffects.

Randomised fellow eye comparison of the effectiveness of dorzolamide and apraclonidine on intraocular pressure following phacoemulsification cataract surgery

PURPOSE

To compare the effectiveness of 2% dorzolamide and 0.5% apraclonidine on intraocular pressure (IOP) following phacoemulsification cataract surgery.

METHODS

This prospective, randomised study comprised 54 eyes of 27 consecutive patients with age-related cataract scheduled for cataract surgery in both eyes. In each patient the eye with the higher degree of cataract was randomly assigned to receive one drop of either dorzolamide or apraclonidine immediately after surgery. The fellow eye was operated on later and received the other treatment. Cataract surgery was performed with a superior 6.0 mm sutureless frown incision, phacoemulsification and implantation of a three-piece PMMA intraocular lens. The IOP was measured pre-operatively as well as 6 h and 20-24 h and 1 week post-operatively.

RESULTS

The mean pre-operative IOP was not significantly different between the groups (dorzolamide group, 14.9 +/- 2.3 mmHg; apraclonidine group, 14.6 +/- 2.5 mmHg; p = 0.450). At 6 h post-operatively, the mean IOP was significantly lower in the dorzolamide than in the apraclonidine group (15.6 +/- 3.9 mmHg vs 18.0 +/- 4.0 mmHg; p < 0.001). An IOP increase of more than 5 mmHg at 6 h post-operatively occurred in 3 (12%) eyes in the dorzolamide group and in 9 (36%) eyes in the apraclonidine group (p = 0.034). At 20-24 h post-operatively and at 1 week post-operatively no difference was found between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

2% Dorzolamide is more effective than 0.5% apraclonidine in preventing the early post-operative IOP increase following phacoemulsification cataract surgery.