Efficacy of Adding Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops to Tobramycin and Dexamethasone in the Treatment of Post-Cataract Surgery Dry Eye Disease: A Retrospective Analysis and Prospective Questionnaire Assessment

Abstract

Ahmed Ali Amer,1,* Essam Ghanem Abu El Wafa Ali,2,* Mohamed Atito Hamed,3,* Ashraf Mohammed Gad Elkareem,2,* Alaa Abdalsadek Ahmed Sinjab,4,* Islam Awny4 1Ophthalmology Department, Qena Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt; 2Ophthalmology Department, Al Azhar University, Assuit, Egypt; 3Ophthalmology Department, Luxor University, Luxor, Egypt; 4Department of Ophthalmology, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ahmed Ali Amer, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of using a combination of antibiotic and corticosteroid eye drops to using the same combination in addition to sodium hyaluronate eye drops.Patients and Methods: This study included patients who underwent phacoemulsification for age-related cataract and presented to the ophthalmology department or outpatient clinic of the two hospitals in the study with DED during the period from January 2020 to January 2023. The study involved a two-pronged approach in which we retrospectively analyzed the prospectively maintained data of the patients and prospectively called the patients for an evaluation of the dry eye impact on vision-related function. The study patients were recruited from two hospitals. During the study period, patients who were treated with a combination of antibiotic and corticosteroid eye drops were enrolled in Group A, and those who were treated with the same combination with sodium hyaluronate eye drops were enrolled in Group B.Results: The present study included 143 patients with post-phacoemulsification DED. Group A included 70 patients, and Group B included 73 patients. There was statistically significant improvement 4 weeks after treatment (p < 0.05) in the two groups. Comparing the two groups showed statistically significant improvements in group B compared to group A (p < 0.05). Assessment of the overall efficacy outcome revealed a statistically significant high percentage of cure (35.6% vs 1.4%) and high effectiveness (42.5% vs 13.6%) and a low percentage of effectiveness (21.9% vs 74.3%) and ineffectiveness (0.0% vs 5.7%) in Group B compared to Group A (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Combining sodium hyaluronate eye drops with tobramycin and dexamethasone eye drops yielded obviously better efficacy outcomes compared to using tobramycin and dexamethasone eye drops alone.Keywords: cataract surgery, dry eye disease, sodium hyaluronate

Keywords

• cataract surgery
• dry eye disease
• sodium hyaluronate