Prospective Interventional Pilot Study Using Bromfenac 0.07% After Cataract Surgery for Prevention of Macular Thickening
Narrative Responses:
Purpose
To evaluate the effectiveness of topical bromfenac 0.07% for the prevention of macular thickness after cataract surgery.
Methods
This is a prospective interventional pilot study where 38 consecutive eyes (24 patients), mean age 72.2 years +/- 12.9 [SD], underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification cataract surgery and received post-operative loteprednol etabonate gel 0.5% taper, bromfenac 0.07% once daily, and besifloxacin 0.6% thrice daily. Macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) were taken pre-operatively and at 3-4 weeks post-operatively. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anterior chamber cells and flare, and IOP were assessed post-operatively. The change in macular thickness between pre- and post-surgery was compared with values in the published peer reviewed literature using established treatment regimens.
Results
Mean pre-op and post-op thicknesses of the 38 eyes studied were 258.2 [95% CI: 252.5 – 263.9] and 259.5 [95% CI: 253.6 – 265.4], respectively. The mean change in macular thickness was 1.26 [95% CI: 0.31 – 2.2, range: -11 to + 5] which is less than that of previously published reports. We observed slight decrease in pre-op macular thickness with age (r = -0.18) but there was no correlation between age and change in thickness after phacoemulsification (r = 0.08). The improvement of BCVA showed slight negative correlation with change in macular thickness (r = -0.19).
Conclusion
Treatment with topical bromfenac 0.07% in combination with topical steroid is effective for minimizing macular thickening in patients undergoing phacoemulsification.