Combinative approach of transzonular triamcinolone-moxifloxacin and perioperative drops to minimize postoperative complications of cataract surgery

AIM: To investigate the effectiveness of combination therapy with transzonular triamcinolone-moxifloxacin and conventional perioperative drops in reducing postoperative complications of cataract surgery. METHODS: Electronic medical records of cataract surgery patients (single surgeon) were reviewed from January 2018 to September 2021. The rate of postoperative complications including prolonged and/or recurrent postoperative inflammation, endophthalmitis, cystoid macular edema (CME), and intraocular pressure (IOP) was compared between the patients receiving combinative therapy and patients receiving drops only. RESULTS: Totally 596 patients and 1057 eyes (Combinative-Therapy group 493 and Drop-Only group 564) were included in this study. Using combination therapy reduced the relative risk of postoperative inflammation by 26.9% (16.6% Combinative-Therapy vs 22.7% Drop-Only, P=0.013). The incidence of endophthalmitis was 0 in Combinative-Therapy group vs 0.5% in Drop-Only group (relative risk reduction 100%), although not statistically significant (P=0.10). The incidence of severe IOP spikes was not significantly different between Combinative-Therapy (2.4%) and Drop-Only (1.6%) groups (P=0.33). The relative risk of postoperative CME was 51.4% less in three months follow up visit in Combinative-Therapy group, although not statistically significant (P=0.07). The visual outcome 1-month postop. (best corrected visual acuity) was significantly better in Combinative-Therapy (logMAR 0.10) compared to Drop-Only (logMAR 0.14) groups (P=0.02) while the baseline visual acuity was not significantly different. CONCLUSION: The combinative approach of transzonular triamcinolone-moxifloxacin plus perioperative eyedrops is an effective method to minimize postoperative inflammation, with better visual outcomes. It could potentially reduce the risk of postoperative endophthalmitis and CME (near-significant P-values; larger studies could analyze better considering low incidence).