New cataract surgery combination gel impressive

A chloramphenicol 0.25%-betamethasone 0.13% (C&B) gel combination has comparable efficacy and tolerance and better acceptance by patients than an aqueous tobramycin 0.3%-dexamethasone 0.1% (T&D) preparation for controlling inflammation and prophylaxis of endophthalmitis following cataract surgery, according to the results of a study published in the September/October issue of the European Journal of Ophthalmology.

Fabrizio Camesasca and colleagues from the Italian Betamethasone-Chloramphenicol versus Dexamethasone-Tobramycin Combination study group conducted a prospective, randomized clinical trial of patients with bilateral operative cataract. Postoperatively, for 15 days, one eye was randomly assigned to therapy with the C&B combination three times a day (Group 1) and the other to the T&D combination eye-drops four times a day.

A total of 142 patients (284 eyes) completed the study. The two groups were comparable with regards efficacy, side effects, uncorrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, oedema or hyperemia of the eyelids, decreased corneal transparency, corneal oedema, Descemet folds, anterior chamber Tyndall and depth and posterior synechiae. Postoperative subjective pain and dry eye sensation were also comparable but the C&B gel combination elicited a significantly more pleasant sensation in patients (p=0.04).

The authors believe that the superior patient acceptance of the C&B gel combination will improve patient compliance and therefore help decrease potential side effects from cataract surgery.