First Author: A.Saeed EGYPT
Co Author(s): M. Abdrabbo
Purpose:
To assess and compare the corneal endothelial affection during phacoemulsification when using irrigating fluid of either balanced salt solution (BSS) or Ringer’s lactate (RL) during the procedure of managing dense brunescent cataract in old age.
Setting:
: Ophthalmology Department, Benha University, Benha, Egypt.
Methods:
The study included fifty eyes of 45 patients of ? 68 years. All patients had senile nuclear cataract of grade ? IV undergoing phacoemulsification. They were equally divided into group A, where the surgery was performed using BSS infusion fluid, and group B using RL. Observations included specular microscopy to evaluate endothelial cell density (ECD) and endothelial cell size variability (CV), corneal pachymetry for central corneal thickness (CCT), and any other complications. Evaluation was done preoperatively and 1 week and 6-8 weeks postoperatively.
Results:
The two groups were well balanced regarding baseline ECD, CV and CCT. Group A showed better results regarding ECD and CV values all over the study period. The difference between the 2 groups in ECD reduction was statistically significant at 6-8 weeks (p=0.034), and the difference between the 2 groups in CV was highly statistically significant at 1 week. (p=0.001) Group B showed more increase in the CCT at 1 week and the difference reached a highly statistically significant level, (P=0.001) and returned to baseline later on. Number of eyes with inflammatory signs was statistically higher in the RL group (p<0.05) during the early postoperative days.
Conclusions:
BSS could be recommended as a more favorable irrigating fluid than RL during phacoemulsification for dense nuclear cataract in old age, because it had a relatively less impact on the corneal endothelium and the postoperative inflammation.
Financial Disclosure:
None
