Corneal endothelial cell protection with a dispersive viscoelastic material and an irrigating solution during phacoemulsification (Low-cost versus expensive combination)

Corneal endothelial cell protection with a dispersive viscoelastic material and an irrigating solution during phacoemulsification. A Prospective Randomized Examiner- and patient-masked Clinical study

Article specifications

This clinical trial was published in 2003 in journal of cataract and refractive surgery (IF 2015:3.02) by Austrian ophthalmologists.

In this study the efficacy and safety of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose 2% (Ocucoat®) and Ringer’s solution (low-cost combination) and sodium chondroitin sulfate 4%–sodium hyaluronate 3% (Viscoat®) in small-incision cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation were compared. This study comprised 90 eyes of 45 consecutive patients with bilateral age-related cataract scheduled for small-incision cataract surgery in both eyes. In each patient, the first eye was randomly assigned to receive an Ocucoat and Ringer’s solution combination or a Viscoat and BSS Plus combination (expensive group) the contralateral eye received the alternative treatment. Central corneal thickness was assessed with partial coherence laser interferometry (PCI) preoperatively and 1 day,1 week, and 1 and 3 months after surgery.

Results

The results of this study demonstrated that the more expensive combination, might be marginally more effective in helping the eye recover from corneal stress. The low-cost combination (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose 2% (Ocucoat®) and Ringer’s solution), Ocucoat and Ringer’s solution, was similar to the more expensive combination with regard to acute corneal swelling and changes in corneal endothelial cell function and morphology during small-incision cataract surgery with foldable IOL implantation in patients with normal endothelial cell counts.