Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
Pain management after photorefractive keratectomy
Rohit Shetty1, Ritika Dalal1, Archana Padmanabhan Nair2
1Narayana Nethralaya Superspeciality Eye Hospital and the Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Bangalore, India.
Purpose:
To evaluate the effect of a bandage contact lens soaked in ketorolac ophthalmic 0.45% solution (Acuvail) on pain modulation in patients having transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).
Design:
Prospective case series.
Setting:
Narayana Nethralaya Superspeciality Eye Hospital, Bangalore, India.
Methods:
Eyes of patients were divided into 2 groups. After transepithelial PRK, a regular soft bandage contact lens was placed in Group 1 and a ketorolac-soaked bandage contact lens was placed in Group 2. The patients were matched for age and sex in the 2 groups. Postoperative pain was compared using the validated Wong-Baker pain scale. Before placement of a ketorolac-soaked bandage contact lens in patients' eyes, the safety of the procedure was checked using cultures from the bandage contact lens and measuring the quantity of the drug adsorbed and the elution profile over time with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC).
Results:
Each group comprised 35 eyes of 35 patients. The mean pain score was 7.95 ± 2.12 (SD) in Group 1, which was significantly higher than in Group 2 (2.76 ± 0.85), which received the ketorolac-soaked bandage contact lens. The UHPLC results showed that the soaked bandage contact lens acted as a depot for ketorolac, which was released onto the ocular surface over time, providing postoperative pain relief without causing adverse events.
Conclusion:
A bandage contact lens soaked in ketorolac 0.45% solution can act as a potential drug depot that can reduce pain after transepithelial PRK.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Analgesia and Pain Management
Pain
Tonsillitis II: Management
Impression Management Techniques I: Managing Appearances
Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance
Sleep is a fundamental physiological drive that fosters a state of restfulness crucial for several bodily functions. It facilitates body restoration, the process by which the body repairs, rejuvenates, and maintains itself during sleep, including memory...
Management of Insomnia

