How does nepafenac affect the choroidal thickness after uneventful cataract surgery?

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Imaging
• Surgical Outcomes

Background:

• Phacoemulsification surgery (UPS) can influence ocular structures, including choroidal thickness (CT).
• Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) is a key tool for measuring CT.
• Understanding post-surgical changes in CT is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of topical nepafenac on choroidal thickness (CT) after uneventful phacoemulsification surgery (UPS).
• To compare CT changes in patients using nepafenac versus a control group using EDI-OCT.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 45 eyes undergoing small-incision UPS.
• Patients were divided into two groups: 23 eyes received topical nepafenac, and 22 control eyes did not.
• Choroidal thickness was measured using EDI-OCT at subfoveal, 1.0 mm temporal, and 1.0 mm nasal locations preoperatively and at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month postoperatively.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed a significant increase in subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT from preoperatively to 1 month postoperatively (p < 0.001 for all measurements).
• The increase in CT over the follow-up period was consistently observed in both the nepafenac and nepafenac-free groups.
• No statistically significant difference in CT changes between the nepafenac and nepafenac-free groups was found at 1 month postoperatively (p > 0.05 for all locations).

Conclusions:

• Uneventful phacoemulsification surgery is associated with a significant increase in choroidal thickness.
• Topical nepafenac did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect on the changes in choroidal thickness following cataract surgery compared to the control group.