Topical flurbiprofen in intraocular surgery on diabetic and nondiabetic patients

Effects of topical flurbiprofen, a highly potent prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor, were evaluated during planned extracapsular cataract extraction in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. One drop of flurbiprofen 0.1% or vehicle solution was instilled preoperatively and three times a day postoperatively for seven days. Pupil size was measured at several stages throughout and after the operation. Further, intraocular pressure before and after the operation was compared. In the nondiabetic patients, aqueous cells and flare, cells in the vitreous body, and pericorneal injection were examined as postoperative inflammatory responses. In the nondiabetic patients pupillary constriction was significantly suppressed by flurbiprofen at the end of anterior capsulotomy (P less than .05) and at the end of surgery (P less than .01). In the vehicle group, postoperative reduction in intraocular pressure was significant compared with that of the flurbiprofen group. These effects were not found in the diabetic patients. Inflammatory responses were not suppressed in the flurbiprofen group compared with the control group except for pericorneal injection.