Preoperative atropine and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the prevention of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome

• Published in: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology 2022-03, Vol.260 (3), p.893-900
• Main Authors: Sharon, Tal, Hecht, Idan, Atar Vardi, Maya, Eremenko, Ron, Assia, Ehud I., Pras, Eran, Safir, Margarita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adrenergic alpha-1 Receptor Antagonists - adverse effects; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - adverse effects; Atropine; Cataract; Cataracts; Demography; Hospitals; Humans; Incidence; Inflammation; Intraoperative Complications - prevention & control; Iris; Iris Diseases - chemically induced; Iris Diseases - prevention & control; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Ophthalmology; Patients; Phacoemulsification - methods; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Retrospective Studies; Sulfonamides; Tamsulosin
• ISSN: 0721-832X; 1435-702X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00417-021-05444-1

Purpose To examine the efficacy of preoperative administration of topical atropine 1% and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for prevention of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS). Methods In this retrospective cohort study, patients who underwent cataract surgery by phacoemulsification between July 2019 and February 2020 in two hospitals were included. Both hospitals are located in central Israel, have similar patient demographics and employ similar surgical techniques. They, however, differ in policy of IFIS prevention. In Meir Medical Center no preventive medications are given pre-operatively, while in Shamir Medical Center patients at-risk for IFIS receive topical atropine 1% once daily and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) thrice daily for 3 days preoperatively. Results Overall, 207 eyes of 207 patients with history of alpha-antagonist use were included. Mean age was 74.9 ± 7.8 years and 82.1% ( n  = 170) were male. Among patients from the pretreating center 86.8% ( n  = 92/106) were pre-treated with either NSAIDs or atropine preoperatively, while in the non-pretreating center no treatment was prescribed ( n  = 0/101). IFIS rate among the non-pretreating center was 29.7% ( n  = 30/101) compared to 15.1% ( n  = 16/106) in the pretreating center ( p  = 0.012). When strictly comparing treated to untreated patients, the treated group had an IFIS rate of 12.0% compared to 30.4% among untreated ( p  = 0.001). Adjusted for age and gender results remain consistent (odds ratio 0.329 for treated patients, 95% confidence interval: 0.150–0.720; p  = 0.005). Conclusions IFIS rates were significantly lower in the pretreating center compared to the non-pretreating center. When comparing strictly treated to untreated patients, differences were even more pronounced.