analysis of intraocular pressure variation with use of steroid eye drops as post-operative medication in cataract patients

Background and aim: steroid drops are necessarily used after cataract surgery to control the ocular inflammation, but they can increase the intraocular pressure. using two different steroid eye drops as post-operative medication after cataract surgery to compare the intraocular pressure variation and control of ocular inflammation. material and methods: a comparative hospital-based study was conducted on 180 patients who underwent cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation. two groups 1 and 2 were made based on the exposure to either dexamethasone 0.1% e/d or prednisolone acetate 1% e/d, respectively. both drops were prescribed six times daily for the first week and gradually tapered off in 6 weeks. the anti-inflammatory effect and mean iop rise from baseline in groups 1 and 2 were analyzed and compared. statistical analysis was done using spss 24.0. results: intraocular pressure increase was noted more in group 1 (25.56%) versus group 2 (17.78%), with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) after one week. after the fourth and sixth weeks, the intraocular pressure rise (iop) was observed in 15.56% and 8.89% versus 10% and 4.44% of the subjects in group 1 and group 2, respectively. both the drugs effectively controlled ocular inflammation, and there was no significant difference in their anti-inflammatory effects. conclusions: our study concludes that dexamethasone is equally efficacious to prednisolone in managing postcataract ocular inflammation with marginally raised iop in the first week in steroid responders. iop returns to baseline with a reduction of the drop's frequency.