Role Of Artificial Tears With And Without Hyaluronic Acid In Controlling Ocular Discomfort Following Prk: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Published 2022 - 40th Congress of the ESCRS

Reference: PO351 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/mtvc-cd13

Authors: Mehrdad Mohammadpour ¹ , Masoud Khorrami-Nejad* ¹ , Delaram Shakoor ¹ , Mahsa Ranjbar Pazooki ¹

¹Tehran University of Medical Sciences,Tehran,Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Purpose

To compare outcomes of applying preservative free artificial tears (PFAT) with and without hyaluronic acid (HA) in early postoperative course following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).

Setting

This study was conducted at Farabi Eye Hospital, a tertiary center, affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Methods

In this triple-blinded randomized clinical trial, PRK procedure was performed on both eyes of 230 patients. Following PRK, patients were divided into three groups: the HA+ group, 44 patients PFAT containing HA; the HA− group, 71 patients PFAT without HA were administered 5 times per day (every 4h); the third group, 115 patients received no PFAT before lens removal. On the 1st and 4th postoperative day, Visual Analogue Score (VAS) was utilized to evaluate patient's level of pain. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about the severity of eye discomfort ranked from 0 to 10 (0=no complaint; 10=most severe complaint experienced).

Results

In eyes receiving PFAT with or without HA (Drop group), mean scores for epiphora, foreign body sensation, and blurred vision on the 1st postoperative day were statistically lower (P<0.05). Filamentous keratitis (FK) was detected in 11 (4.7%) eyes, and recurrent corneal erosion (RCE) was observed in 5 (2.1%) eyes. In the control group, FK was noted in 16 (6.9%) eyes while 13 (5.6%) eyes had RCE and 5 (2.1%) eyes had corneal haze. The rate of complications was statistically lower in Drop group (P=0.009). However, the aforementioned scores were not statically different between HA+ and HA− group one and two (P=0.29).

Conclusions

The present study showed that application of artificial tear drops in early postoperative course following PRK surgery can improve early ocular discomfort and visual rehabilitation. In addition, it may play a role in decreasing postoperative complications especially corneal haze formation. The effect of adding HA to artificial tear drops has to be further evaluated in future studies with larger sample sizes, longer follow ups and tear osmolarity measurement.