Study of the Intraocular Pressure Changes after Phacoemulsification in Patients with Refractive Errors

Abstract Purpose: to investigate the intraocular pressure (IOP) changes after phacoemulsification surgery, and its relationship with refractive conditions. Materials and Methods: This prospective, observational study comprised 100 eyes from 100 patients who had no glaucoma and underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in one eye. Patients were classified into four groups by refractive conditions: Emmetropia, mild to moderate myopia, high myopia and hyperopia. Basic information was collected including age, sex, anterior chamber depth and axial length before surgery. IOP and refractive conditions measured before surgery, and at 1st day, 1st week, 1st month, and 3rd months after surgery. Results: all group showed a significant lower IOP at 3rd month compared with that before surgery. patients with emmetropia, mild to moderate myopia and hyperopia showed exactly the same results. In these 3 groups, IOP after surgery presented with a statistically significant drop at 1st week, 1st month and 3rd months after operation, especially at 1week. In patients with high myopia, IOP showed a lower IOP at 1st week and 1st month compared with IOP before surgery but this drop was not statistically significant (P= 0.505 and P = 0.146, respectively) but there is a statistically significant reduction between preoperative IOP and postoperative IOP at 3rd months (P =0.001). Conclusions: a significant lower IOP at 3rd month than that before surgery was found in patients groups with different refractive conditions. This indicate that cataract surgery had an effect on IOP reduction despite the refractive conditions. However, high myopic patients showed a non-significant lower speed of IOP reduction at 1st week and 1st month. This conclude that refractive conditions might influence the IOP fluctuation in first 90 days after surgery.