Corneal endothelial changes after intracameral vancomycin injection in cataract surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate corneal endothelial changes after intracameral injection of vancomycin at the end of routine cataract surgery.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Virgen de los Lirios, Alcoy, Alicante, Spain.

Design: Prospective comparative case series.

Methods: Eyes received an intracameral injection of vancomycin (1 mg/0.1 mL) or cefuroxime (1 mg/0.1 mL) at the end of surgery. The visual acuity, corneal clarity, pachymetry, anterior chamber reaction, endothelial cell density (ECD), coefficient of variation (CoV), and hexagonality were evaluated at baseline and 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.

Results: Sixty eyes (42 patients), 30 in each group, were enrolled. In the vancomycin group, there was a significant decrease in ECD 1 week after surgery (P = .000), after which the ECD stabilized. There were no statistically significant changes in postoperative CoV values between preoperatively and postoperatively, although there was a transient decrease in hexagonality 1 week after surgery (P = .006). In the cefuroxime group, the ECD significantly decreased 1 week after surgery (P = .000) and then stabilized. There was a statistically significantly decrease in the CoV between preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively (P = .014). No changes were noted in hexagonality. The postoperative ECD, CoV, and hexagonality values were not significantly different between the vancomycin group and the cefuroxime group.

Conclusions: Endothelial cell changes observed after intracameral vancomycin were similar to those observed after intracameral cefuroxime in cataract surgery. The results indicate that intracameral vancomycin is safe for use in cataract surgery.

Financial disclosure: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.