Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the influence of commonly used eye drops on contrast sensitivity (CS). Design: Prospective study. Participants: One hundred twenty volunteers (120) were enrolled. Methods: The CS of ophthalmologically healthy individuals was evaluated at baseline examination before the instillation, 20 and 40 minutes after the instillation of diclofenac sodium and commonly used antiglaucoma eye drops (latanoprost, brimonidine tartrate, combination of dorzolamide hydrochloride and timolol maleate). CS was assessed at 7 spatial frequencies varying from 1.5 c/d to 20 c/d by the use of Mentor B-VAT II-SG video acuity tester. Results: Diclofenac sodium induced a mild, however statistically significant decrease on the CS in 4 out of 30 subjects 20 minutes after instillation at the spatial frequency of 1.5 c/d and 3 c/d (p p > 0.05). Brimonidine tartrate decreased CS in 4 out of 30 subjects 20 minutes after the instillation at a high spatial frequency (20 c/d) yet this decrease was marginally statistically significant (p = 0.057). CS returned to baseline scores 40 minutes after the instillation for all drugs. Conclusions: Diclofenac sodium eye drops had a mild temporal effect on the low spatial frequencies of 1.5 c/d and 3 c/d in some individuals. Latanoprost and dorzolamide/timolol had a non-statistically significant effect on the same spatial frequencies. Brimonidine eye drops had a temporal effect on the high spatial frequency of 20 c/d with marginal statistical significance. The CS scores returned to normal, in all cases, within the next 40 minutes after the instillation. Ophthalmologists should be aware of the fact that some eye drops may have an influence on CS.
Highlights
Despite the growing number of drugs used as anti-inflammatory agents in ophthalmology, diclofenac remains a reasonable choice when treating a variety of ocular conditions
Sixteen spatial frequencies are available from 1.5 c/d to 40 c/d yet we examined the contrast sensitivity (CS) function of our subjects at 1.5 c/d, 3.0 c/d, 4.6 c/d, 6.0 c/d, 8.5 c/d, 12 c/d and 20 c/d
CS function has been used to evaluate the quality of vision in several conditions including various forms of retinopathy [8], cataract surgery/IOL implantation [9] and glaucoma [10]
Summary
Despite the growing number of drugs used as anti-inflammatory agents in ophthalmology, diclofenac remains a reasonable choice when treating a variety of ocular conditions. Diclofenac exhibits certain adverse effects after topical instillation, burning and stinging being the most frequent [1]. Topical beta-blockers, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors such as dorzolamide, latanoprost, usually in combination with beta-blockers, and brimonidine, may have various side effects, among them blurring of vision. CS is a parameter used to assess the visual function at different levels of contrast, usually altered before any severe change in visual acuity is noticed [2]. There are various studies correlating the ability of individuals to fulfill complex tasks, such as driving performance [3] or computer task accuracy [4], or even accomplish everyday activities with their CS function. A decrease in the quality of life has been shown in relation to the deterioration of visual function [5], including CS
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