Efficacy and safety of a 3-month loteprednol etabonate 0.5% gel taper for routine prophylaxis after photorefractive keratectomy compared to a 3-month prednisolone acetate 1% and fluorometholone 0.1% taper

Figures & data

Table 1 Preoperative group comparisons

	Loteprednol	Prednisolone/fml	P-value*
Average age (years)	34.6±8.8 (22–56)	35.3±6.2 (23–54)
Female/male	24/33	36/38
LogMAR BCVA	−0.11±0.04 (0 to −0.125)	−0.11±0.05 (0 to −0.125)	0.74
Spherical equivalent (D)	−3.72±2.12 (−0.25 to −9.13)	−4.03±1.99 (1.88 to −8.38)	0.25
Sphere (D)	−4.14±2.06 (−0.75 to −9.25)	−4.42±2.03 (1.25 to −8.75)	0.27
Cylinder (D)	0.84±0.77 (0 to 3.5)	0.82±0.70 (0 to 3)	0.80
Preop pachymetry (microns)	537.2±27 (481 to 606)	545.4±27 (472 to 627)	0.01

Notes:

* Homoscedastic independent Student’s t-test; values are represented as mean ± standard deviation (range).

Abbreviations: BCVA, best corrected visual acuity; D, diopters; fml, fluorometholone.

Table 2 Pre- and postoperative intraocular pressure measurements

	Mean IOP preoperative	Mean IOP 1 week postop	Mean IOP 1 month postop	Mean IOP 2 months postop	Mean IOP 3 months postop
Loteprednol (mmHg)	14.38±2.11 (10–20)	13.67±2.34 (9–21)	14.15±2.88 (9–23)	13.36±2.53 (8–21)	13.15±2.43 (8–20)
Prednisolone/fml (mmHg) ±SD	14.30±2.13 (10–19)	13.28±3.37 (8–34)	14.60±4.20 (8–40)	13.16±2.80 (8–24)	12.22±2.38 (6–19)
P-value*	0.761521	0.320222	0.322453	0.57984	0.003206

Notes:

* Homoscedastic independent student’s t-test; values are represented as mean ± standard deviation (range).

Abbreviations: fml, fluorometholone; IOP, intraocular pressure; SD, standard deviation; postop, postoperative.

Figure 1 Pre- and postoperative visual acuity expressed in logMAR.

Abbreviations: BCVA, best corrected visual acuity; UCVA, uncorrected visual acuity; postop, postoperative; fml, fluorometholone.