[Postoperative pain after cooling PRK]

ABSTRACT

To compare post-operative pain with cooling photorefractive keratectomy [PRK] versus conventional PRK. A prospective clinical trial was performed on 94 eyes from 47 patients scheduled for PRK. Patients were randomly assigned to either cooling or conventional PRK. Pain was evaluated 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours post-operation using a visual analogue scale [VAS]. Corneal haze, conjunctival and palpebral edema, and complications were also assessed. Mean age of the patients was 24.8 +/- 4.5 [range 18-36 years] and mean refractive error was 3.6 +/- 1.6 diopters. Median pain score in the cooling group at 6 and 12 hours was 15 and 10, respectively and zero at 24 and 48 hours. Median pain score in the conventional group at 6 and 12 hours was 30 and 15 and was zero at 24 and 48 hours. There was no adverse effect in either of the groups. Cooling PRK effectively reduces post-operative pain after PRK without any additional adverse effect