Study of tear film status in patients undergoing phacoemulsification surgery

The present study was undertaken to study the tear film status preoperatively and post-operatively in patients undergoing phacoemulsification surgery. The study was conducted as prospective study on 100 patients undergoing phacoemulsification surgery during the study period of 1 year. Work up for tear film status including Schirmer’s test, staining of cornea and conjunctiva with fluorescein dye, TBUT (tear film break up time) was done preoperatively and postoperatively after phacoemulsification. Mean Schirmer’s value at preoperative assessment was 27.45±4.95 whereas that at post operative day 7, 15 and 30 was 9.09±2.19, 16.73±5.12 and 24.45±4.05 respectively. Similarly, mean TBUT at preoperative level was 11.11±1.16 which reduced to 6.63±1.57 at day 7, 7.37±1.44 at day 15 and 9.77±0.91 at day 30. Test of significance (ANOVA) showed statistically significant difference in mean Schirmer’s and TBUT values at various follow ups post-operatively as compared to baseline (p<0.01). Cataract surgery can lead to dry eye due to incision itself as well as due to intra-operative exposure to the microscope light. Thus, artificial tears must be prescribed to improve the quality of life during immediate post-operative period. However, gradually, tear film status improved. We only followed up patients till one month, a long term follow up is recommended to assess the time taken for the tear film to recover to its preoperative status.