Comparison of the efficacy of three different drugs on dry eye after cataract surgery

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of three drugs in the treatment of dry eye after phacoemulsification. Methods A prospective case-control study. A total of 96 eyes of 96 patients with dry eye after phacoemulsification from Jun. 2017 to May 2018 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were analyzed. All cases were randomly divided into 3 groups, group A received the deproteinized calf blood extract eye gel, group B received vitamin A palmitate eye gel, and group C received Omega-3 fatty acid drug. Ocular surface disease index questionnaire (OSDI), tear film break-up time (BUT), corneal fluorescence staining (FL) and Schirmer I test (SIt) were performed before and 1 month after operation. Results The OSDI scores of the three groups at 1 month after operation were lower than those before operation.The difference was statistically significant(group A, t=60.012, P=0.001; group B, t=51.114, P=0.001; group C, t=39.427, P=0.001). There was no significant difference among three groups (F=5.684, P=0.051). BUT, SIt and OSDI scores were better in group A and C than those in group B (P<0.05). FL scores of group A were superior to group B and C, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Both deproteinized calf blood extract and Omega-3 fatty acid can extend BUT, and the former has more advantage in repairing corneal epithelium. Key words: Phacoemulsification, cataract; Dry eye; Drugs