Effect of dexamethasone 0.1% and prednisolone acetate 1.0% eye drops on the blood-aqueous barrier after cataract surgery: a controlled randomized fluorophotometric study.

Using non-invasive anterior chamber fluorophotometry, we performed a double-blind, randomized clinical trial on the effects of dexamethasone 0.1% and prednisolone acetate 1.0% eye drops on the blood-aqueous barrier after phacoemulsification and posterior chamber lens implantation. Twenty patients received one of the preparations topically to the surgically treated eye 5 times daily for a period of 5 days, beginning the day after surgery. Patients chosen for the study had no history of eye disease other than senile cataract nor of systemic diseases influencing the eyes. No other steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were given before or during the investigation. The fluorometric data measured 5 days after surgery show a lower mean concentration of fluorescein in the dexamethasone alcohol 0.1% treated group compared with the prednisolone acetate 1.0% treated group. The difference is statistically not significant. The clinical assessment of postoperative ocular inflammation did correlate with the fluorophotometric measurements. The results of the study indicate that although dexamethasone is the more potent anti-inflammatory agent, with a better binding affinity to glucocorticoid receptors, we are--with the number of cases measured--unable to demonstrate any difference in the efficacy in protecting the blood-aqueous barrier after cataract extraction and posterior chamber lens implantation to prednisolone acetate.