[Treatment with tamsulosin. Should the cataract be operated before?]

Recently, intraoperative floppy-iris syndrome (IFIS) has been related to tamsulosin treatment. This review evaluates the epidemiological evidence of the association of tamsulosin with IFIS and the necessity of a prior ophthalmolo-gic examination in this group of patients.

Systematic review of the literature.

Since 2005, when the syndrome was described, some studies have confirmed this association. Tamsulosin is the most clearly involved drug. No prospective studies have been published, but some authors consider that the syndrome affects, at least, half of the patients receiving this drug. No medical treatment has demonstrated its usefulness in the prevention of this syndrome.

Considering the high prevalence of this syndrome, all the patients who are going to start this treatment should receive previous ophthalmologic examination, to evaluate the convenience of performing early cataract surgery in order to avoid intraoperative complications.