Effect of ocular compression (Autopressor) on intraocular pressure in periocular anaesthesia

One hundred successive patients were operated on for cataract under periocular anaesthesia. The patients were divided into 3 groups to study the effect of extraocular compression on intraocular pressure. In the control group (C-O), no compression was used. In the other 2 groups, compression was applied immediately after local injection of the anaesthetic for either 10 (C-10) or 20 min (C-20). In the control group, a periocular local anaesthetic increased the IOP in 27 of 36 patients, the average increase being 3.8 mmHg (at 10 min). Postanaesthetic compression of the eye led to a decrease in intraocular pressure, which is beneficial for the operative procedure. During the first 10 min, the mean intraocular pressure decreased by 3.1 and 4.0 mmHg in groups C-10 and C-20, respectively. In the C-20 group, there was a further (1.3 mmHg) reduction in intraocular pressure between 10 and 20 min.