Loteprednol etabonate gel 0.5% is efficacious and safe for treating postoperative inflammation and pain caused by cataract surgery, claims a recent report.

, See Clearly Vision Group, McLean, Virginia, USA, completed a prospective double-masked parallel-group study on 406 patients who underwent cataract surgery. Patients with anterior chamber cell (ACC) grade two or higher after surgery were randomized to receive loteprednol etabonate 0.5% gel or vehicle four times daily for 14 days.

Primary outcome measures included proportion of patients with complete resolution of ACC and no pain on postoperative day eight. The safety measures included adverse events, intraocular pressure (IOP), visual acuity, biomicroscopy and funduscopy findings and tolerability (ocular symptoms and drop comfort).

On day eight of the follow-up period 30.5% of the patients in the loteprednol group and 16.3% in the vehicle group had complete resolution of ACC, but the remainder had grade 0 pain. 

Loteprednol etabonate was favoured as a method for complete resolution of ACC and grade 0 pain. One patient in each group experienced a significant increase in IOP but overall 85% of patients reported no discomfort on drop instillation.