Amaechi. O. U.
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Abstract
Corticosteroids provide a non-specific mode of therapy for suppressing inflammation without eliminating the cause; and their local ophthalmic use entails a degree of risk for serious ocular complications like steroid-induced glaucoma, cataract formation, rebound inflammation, etcetera. The risk of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) was compared for dexamethasone phosphate (Decadron ) and fluorometholone acetate (Flarex ) on 32 normotensive volunteers, comprising 12 males and 20 females of the age range 18-40 years. However, age and sex were not considered in the study. An IOP increase of > 5mmHg was recorded in 44 eyes (68.8%) for Decadron as against 2 eyes (3.1%) for Flarex, and this difference was found to be highly significant when analyzed statistically using the Z-test at 95%
confidence interval. Fluorometholone acetate, therefore, has a low propensity for increasing IOP and is recommended for treating most ocular inflammations in patients where an increased IOP is considered an urgent visual risk.
Keywords: Intraocular Pressure, Steroids, Fluorometholone acetate, Dexamethasone phosphate, Indentation tonometry, Normotensive.