TOPICAL APRACLONIDINE REDUCES PAIN AFTER INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of topical apraclonidine in reducing pain and subconjunctival hemorrhage (SCH) after intravitreal injections (IViT).
Methods: A prospective, randomized, double-blinded study. Thirty-nine patients were examined twice, at each monthly IViT of 1.25 mg/0.05 mL bevacizumab. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either topical apraclonidine 0.5% or placebo to the treated eye, 30 minutes before the first IViT. At their second IViT, the intervention was switched. Thirty minutes after the injection, SCH size was measured by a slit lamp, and pain was assessed by the numerical rating scale (NRS-11).
Results: Mean pain score was 1.69 (SD ±1.44) in the apraclonidine group and 3.28 (SD ±2.27) in the control group (P

Source: RETINA - July 21, 2017 Category: Opthalmology Tags: Original Study Source Type: research