The Effect of Intracameral Triamcinolone Acetonide on Controlling Common Complications following Phacoemulsification in Dogs

Abstract

The intracameral injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) has achieved favorable clinical effects in controlling intraocular inflammatory reactions in humans after cataract surgery. However, the effect of this method remains unclear in veterinary practice. In this paper, 18 dogs with bilateral cataracts were randomly divided into three groups, with 6 dogs in each group. Phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation were performed on the 36 eyes of these dogs. A total of 0.1 mL of TA solution was injected into the oculus dexter (OD) anterior chambers. All oculus sinister (OS) anterior chambers of these dogs were used as controls. The results demonstrated that the corneal edema severity scores of the OD (1.5 mg TA) were lower than those of the OS from the 1st to 7th day after surgery, with a significant difference on the 3rd day after surgery (p = 0.033). The corneal edema severity scores in the OD (1.5 mg TA) were significantly lower than those in the OD (0.5 mg TA) on the 3rd day after surgery (p = 0.036). The aqueous humor protein concentration of the OD (1.5 mg TA) had a lower concentration than the OS on the 1st day after surgery (p = 0.004). Furthermore, on the 5th and 10th days, the aqueous humor protein concentration of the OD (1.5 mg TA) was lower than that of the OS (p = 0.038 and p = 0.044, respectively). The aqueous humor PGE2 concentration of the OD (1.5 mg TA) had a lower concentration than the OS on the 1st day after surgery (p = 0.026). The aqueous humor PGE2 concentrations in the OD (1.0 mg TA) and OD (1.5 mg TA) were lower compared to that in the OD (0.5 mg TA) on the 1st day after surgery (p = 0.041 and p = 0.037, respectively). It was demonstrated that TA-based treatment can be safely employed to effectively control common complications after phacoemulsification in dogs.