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

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effects of topical nepafenac on choroidal thickness (CT) following uneventful phacoemulsification surgery (UPS) using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Methods: This prospective study included 45 randomly selected eyes (23 eyes of 23 patients used nepafenac (nepafenac group) and 22 eyes of 22 control patients did not use nepafenac (nepafenac-free group)) undergoing small-incision UPS. All participants underwent full ophthalmologic examination. CT measurements were performed at subfoveal, 1.0 mm temporal, and 1.0 mm nasal using the EDI-OCT preoperatively, 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month postoperatively. Results: The mean subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT in the nepafenac-free group had changed from 268.95 +/- 63.59 mu m to 283.36 +/- 65.63 mu m, 237.22 +/- 64.09 mu m to 253.09 +/- 67.27 mu m, and 235.95 +/- 75.22 mu m to 259.09 +/- 63.66 mu m preoperatively to 1 month postoperatively, respectively (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The mean subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT in the nepafenac group had changed from 259.65 +/- 55.99 mu m to 276.65 +/- 59.21 mu m, 236.34 +/- 55.40 mu m to 251.00 +/- 62.39 mu m, and 247.56 +/- 50.88 mu m to 261.13 +/- 53.73 mu m preoperatively to 1 month postoperatively, respectively (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The postoperative CT continued to increase significantly during the follow-up period in two groups. However, compared to the change from baseline to month 1, there was not a statistically significant difference between the groups at subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT (p: 0.633, p: 0.865, and p: 0.328, respectively). Conclusion: UPS may cause a significant increase in CT. Although increasing in the CT was lower in the nepafenac group than the nepafenac-free group, there was not a statistically significant difference between the groups.