Intraoperative Performance and Early Postoperative Outcomes Following Phacoemulsification With Three Fluidic Systems: A Randomized Trial

Purpose: To compare intraoperative performance and early postoperative outcomes following phacoemulsification with two systems using active fluidics and one using gravity-based fluidics. Methods: In this prospective randomized trial, 200 eyes were randomized to the traditional and Active Sentry groups (n = 80 eyes each) where the Centurion Vision System was used with traditional or Active Sentry (Alcon Laboratories, Inc) hand-pieces, respectively, or the Infinit group (n = 40 eyes) where the Infiniti Vision System (Alcon Laboratories, Inc) was used. Within the traditional and Active Sentry groups, there were two subgroups with low (30 mm Hg) or high (55 mm Hg) intraocular pressure (IOP) used. Outcome measures compared were: cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), percentage change in central corneal thickness (CCT) at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month, anterior chamber cells at 1 day and 1 week, rate of rise and fall of IOP following occlusion break, corneal endothelial cell density (ECD), and macular thickness 6 months postoperatively. Results: CDE was significantly lower in group II compared to the traditional group (2.96 ± 1.4 vs 4.14 ± 2.2, P = .001). With 30 mm Hg IOP, the Active Sentry group had significantly less percentage change in CCT at 1 week postoperatively compared to the traditional handpiece group (0.01% vs 0.02%, P = .008). Incidence of anterior chamber cells less than grade 2 on day 1 was significantly higher in the Active Sentry group (82.9% vs 52%, P = .03). Percentage change in ECD was significantly lower in the Active Sentry group (−0.957 vs −0.98%, P = .005). Significantly faster rise of IOP to baseline following occlusion break was seen in the Active Sentry group. Conclusions: The use of Active Sentry handpiece was associated with lower CDE, less postoperative increase in CCT, fewer anterior chamber cells, and faster rise of IOP following occlusion break. [ J Refract Surg . 2024;40(5):e304–e312.]