Intracameral Pilocarpine in Topical Phacoemulsificationt
SO ROT WUTTHIPHAN, M.D.* • PRUT HANUTSAHA, M.D.**, WATANEE JENCHITR,M.D.*
Affiliation : *Department of Ophthalmology, Priests Hospital, Bangkok 10400, **Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. t Presented at the Ophthalmological Society of Thailand Annual Meeting, Bangkok, November 1997.
Purpose : To evaluate the efficacy and corneal toxiCity of intracameral pilocarpine.
Method : A randomized, control trial using contralateral eye as control was designed to
evaluate the effect of intracameral pilocarpine during phacoemulsification in 30 patients. 0.13
mg/ml pilocarpine in BSS was used as an irrigating solution to remove viscoelastic agents at the
end of the operation while BSS was used in the control group. The outcome measurements
composed of intraoperative pre and post irrigation pupil diameter, pre and post operative
endothelial cell count and corneal thickness.
Setting : Priests Hospital.
Results : The pre-irrigation pupil size in the pilocarpine group and the control group
was 7.62 ± 0.75 mm and 7.60 ± 0.77 mm respectively. The post-irrigation pupil size in the pilo-
carpine group and the control group was 5.40 ± 0.79 mm and 7.18 ± 0.79 mm. There were no
statistically differences in pre and post-operative endothelial cell density, central corneal
thickness, and the average corneal thickness between the pilocarpine group and the control
group during six months follow-up.
Conclusion : Intracameral pilocarpine in a low concentration (0.13 mg/ml) effectively
constricts the pupil without significant changes of corneal endothelium compared to the control
group.
Keywords : Pilocarpine, Phacoemulsification
