ALLAYING OCULAR PAIN: WHO WINS TOPICAL NEPAFENAC V/S TOPICAL STEROIDS IN POST CATARACT SURGERY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness globally and is responsible for 39.1% of blindness (including refractive error) and 47.8% of total blindness (excluding refractive error).[1,2] Though the problem of cataract blindness is prevalent all over the world, it is more severe in the developing nations because of the backlog of untreated cataracts and underutilization of existing resources.[3-5] According to the latest national survey, in India 62.6% of the blindness in the population above 50 years of age is cataract related.[6] METHODS: The study was conducted in Sankara Eye Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab with 100 patients divided in two groups randomnly by lottery method to one receiving topical Nepafenac with steroids and the other group receiving topical steroids alone post-cataract surgery. RESULTS: Patients were assessed on the basis of post-operative ocular pain score in group A, in which they were more pain free from day-7 onwards as compared to the group B receiving steroids alone (p=0.029)