Tear film stability after phacoemulsification for ageª²related cataract

    LI Ying1, WANG Congª²Yi, WU Liª²An, NI Wei, ZHANG Lin, YANG Xinª²Guang

    1Department of Ophthalmology, Fourth Hospital, Xi¬ðan 710004, China, 2Department of Ophthalmology, First Hospital, Xi¬ðan Jiaotong Unversity, Xi¬ðan 710061, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To evaluate the tear film stability at different times after phacoemulsification for ageª²related cataract and to estimate the tear film function and relative affective factors. METHODS: This randomized study involved 80 ageª²related cataract inpatients (90 eyes) from July, 2003 to December, 2003. All the patients underwent phacoemulsification through clear corneal combined with foldable intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Schirmer I test (SIt), breakup time (BUT) and corneal fluorescein staining were measured preoperatively and on 1, 7, 30 and 90 d postoperatively. RESULTS: On day 1 and day 2 postoperatively, the BUT reduced greatly (t=15.816, P<0.001), SIt value increased significantly (t=10.199, P<0.001) and corneal fluorescein staining showed positive (+). There existed corneal edema at the incision. SIt value on 7 d postoperatively (t=1.926, P>0.05) and BUT on 30 d postoperatively (t=3.472, P>0.05) returned to their preoperative values. Corneal fluorescein staining and corneal edema recovered on 30 d postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Phacoemulsification significantly alters the BUT, SIt and corneal fluorescein staining. Some patients experience dry eye after this surgery. ......