Therapeutic efficacy of 3% NaCl hypertonic solution in postoperative corneal edema

Currently phacoemulsification (PE) is the main technique of cataract surgery, which provides for patients early clinical and functional rehabilitation. Post-operative corneal edema is a frequent and undesirable clinical situation.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate clinical efficacy of 3% sodium chloride (“Ocusaline”) treatment in patients with corneal edema in the early post-operative period.

Materials and methods. 60 patients (65 eyes) with post-operative corneal edema were included in the study. The main group consisted of 35 eyes; 30 eyes were included into the control group. Patients in the group 1 in addition to the routine post-operative treatment were treated with 3% sodium chloride hypertonic eye drops (“Ocusaline”); and patients in group 2 were treated according to the standard protocol. In all patients before and after surgery (in 1 day, 7 days and 1 month), subjective and objective indices of functional ophthalmic state (visual acuity, pachymetry in the central area and in the tunnel incision zone) were estimated.

Results. The study results demonstrated that 3% sodium chloride hypertonic solution use facilitates visual acuity improvement due to the decrease of corneal thickness in the central area already at one week after surgery. The use of “Ocusaline” in the early post-operative period allows to decrease clinical and functional rehabilitation terms and to reduce subjective complaints of patients.