Use of Artificial tears drops reduces refractive errors after cataract surgery

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. When artificial tears were injected before the exams, anterior corneal astigmatism and total corneal astigmatism were dramatically reduced.

2. This alteration resulted in a change in IOL cylinder calculation in 43.8% of instances and a shift in the implantation axis of more than 10 degrees in 17.7% of cases.

3. These alterations were substantially more pronounced in individuals with breakdown times (BUT) smaller than 5 seconds.

4. The mean absolute error in projected astigmatism was considerably reduced following artificial tears installation in the subgroup of patients with a BUT of less than 5 seconds.

In conclusion, when the dry eye is present, the values of corneal astigmatism fluctuate dramatically. This change has a considerable influence on toric IOL computation, whether it's on the IOL cylinder or on the implantation axis. Artificial tears reduce refractive errors, particularly when the BUT becomes less than 5 seconds. As a result, it is critical to include dry eyes during preoperative examinations for refractive cataract surgery.

Reference:

Rochet, E., Levron, A., Agard, E., Chehab, H. E., Plas, H., Bouvarel, H., Chirpaz, N., Billant, J., & Dot, C. (2021). Should Artificial Tears Be Used During the Preoperative Assessment of Toric IOLs Before Age-Related Cataract Surgery? The TORIDE Study. In Journal of Refractive Surgery (Vol. 37, Issue 11, pp. 759–766). SLACK, Inc. https://doi.org/10.3928/1081597x-20210826-01