AIM: To observe the effect of pranoprofen eye drops on corneal endothelium and tears inflammatory factors in perioperative period of cataract surgery.

METHODS: Totally 60 cases(60 eyes)of senile cataract patients were enrolled in this study. Patients with diabetes or other systemic diseases, with other eye diseases or eye surgery, drug allergy were excluded. All the patients were given ophthalmic surgery for the first time. All the patients were randomly divided into 4 groups, 15 patients per group. Each group of patients had been given levofloxacin eye drops preoperatively for 3d, 4 times per day, and tobramycin dexamethasone eye drops postoperatively, 3 times per day for the first week, 2 times per day for the second week. Group A was the control group, without any other drugs. Group B was given pranoprofen eye drops 4 times per day for 3d before the operation. Group C was given pranoprofen eye drops 4 times per day for 1wk after the operation. Group D was given pranoprofen eye drops 4 times per day for 3d before the operation and 1wk after the operation. All the surgeries were done by the same ophthalmologist, using the same phacoemulsification machine and the same ultrasound energy parameters. The loss rate of endothelial cell was measured by corneal endothelium counterometry. Interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)in the tear fluid were measured by ELISA before surgery(before using eye drops)and 1wk, 1mo and 3mo postoperatively.

RESULTS: There was no significant difference in patients' gender, age and phacoemulsification time among 4 groups. The levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 in the tear fluid of the Group B before surgery had no significant difference compared to that at 3mo postoperatively(P>0.05), but the differences among the other groups at different time points were statistically significant(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in preoperative among the four groups(P>0.05). At 1wk after the operation, there was significant difference between the Group A and the other three groups(P<0.05), and there was significant difference between the Group B and the Group D(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the Group B and the Group C, the Group C and the Group D(P>0.05). At 1mo after the operation, there was significant difference between the Group A and the other three groups(P<0.05), and there was significant difference between the Group B and the Group C, the Group C and the Group D(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the Group B and the Group D(P>0.05). At 3mo after the operation, there was significant difference between the Group A and the other three groups(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the Group B, the Group C and the Group D(P>0.05). The levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF in the tear fluid at different time points among each group were significantly different(P<0.05). There was no significant difference among the four groups in preoperative(P>0.05). At 1w after the operation, there was significant difference between the Group A and the other three groups(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the other three groups respectively(P>0.05). At 1mo after the operation, there was significant difference between the Group A and the other three groups(P<0.05), and there was significant difference between the Group B and the Group C, the Group C and the Group D(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the Group B and the Group D(P>0.05). At 3mo after the operation, there was significant difference between the Group A and the other three groups(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the other three groups respectively(P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: Pranoprofen eye drops have no effect on the loss rate of corneal endothelium. Pranoprofen eye drops could significantly reduced the tears inflammatory factors in perioperative period of cataract surgery. The role to reduce inflammatory cytokines in the postoperative application of pranoprofen eye drops is not obvious compared to other two modes of administration, but the difference is not statistically significant at 3mo. The administration of preoperative and postoperative use of pranoprofen eye drops has no significant advantage in reducing inflammatory cytokines compared with only preoperative use.