Filtration surgery in rabbits treated with diclofenac or prednisolone acetate

We performed filtration surgery in one eye of each of 28 rabbits. Either a nonsteroid (diclofenac) or a steroid (prednisolone acetate) was given as a postoperative antiinflammatory agent. On no examination day was there a significant difference in the intraocular pressure of the rabbits that had received diclofenac as contrasted with those that had received prednisolone acetate (P > .05, Student's t-test). Neither was there, based on log-rank life-table analysis, any significant difference between the two groups in terms of filtering bleb survival (P = .484). Finally, there were no significant differences on any examination day between the two groups in terms of bleb height or conjunctival injection (P > .05, Mann-Whitney U-test). We conclude that in this rabbit model for filtration surgery, the postoperative antiinflammatory effect of diclofenac was similar to that of prednisolone acetate. Because a nonsteroidal agent such as diclofenac that could provide an antiinflammatory effect sufficient to allow optimal bleb survival in humans, without the level of potential side effects of corticosteroids, might be clinically useful, further studies may be warranted.