Effect of intraocular irrigating solution on flicker electroretinogram during cataract surgery in human eye

The effects of two commercially available intraocular irrigating solutions, Opeguard MA and BSS Plus, were studied during extracapsular cataract surgery in 45 eyes of 35 patients. After irrigation and aspiration of the residual cortex with Opeguard MA or BSS-Plus, the ERG amplitude increased, respectively, to 111.2+/-5.8% and 109.5+/-5.3% of the preirrigation amplitudes. The increases reached significance (116.9+/-7.0% and 115.7+/-6.5%; both P < .05) at the end of surgery compared with pre-irrigation ERG amplitudes. After irrigation with Opeguard MA or BSS-Plus, the ERG peak times were significantly prolonged to 103.9+/-0.8% and 104.2+/-1.2%, respectively, of the preirrigation peak times (both P < .01). The ERG peak times significantly shortened to 101.5+/-0.9% and 101.3+/-1.22%, respectively, at the end of surgery (P < .001 and P < .05) compared with just after irrigation. Although we have previously shown that Opeguard MA maintained amplitude and implicit time of 30 Hz flicker ERG during vitrectomy better than BSS-Plus, there were no statistically significant differences between the changes in amplitude and peak time with Opeguard MA and BSS-Plus during cataract surgery. We speculate that a drop in the retinal temperature during irrigation and aspiration in the anterior chamber and an increase in the photopic ERG amplitude during light adaptation with the operating microscope caused these ERG changes.