Clinical Consideration of Prednisolone Induced Cataract

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper was to examine the correlation between the development of posterior subcapsular cataract and the dosage and duration of systemic steroid therapy. METHODS: Twenty-two eyes which underwent cataract surgery at our ophthalmologic department were enrolled, along with 20 randomly selected eyes, which received prednisolone therapy at least for 1 year. We examined prednisolone dosage, duration and systemic disorders. We compare daily prednisolone dosage, and duration between the subcapsular opacity group and the non-subcapsular opacity group. SPSS, with 2 way- ANOVA system, was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The development of posterior subcapsular cataract was correlated with the daily prednisolone dosage, but not with the duration of prednisolone therapy (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Careful attention to the daily steroid dosage is required to prevent posterior subcapsular cataract formation.