Higher-Order Aberrations After Cyclopentolate, Tropicamide, and Artificial Tear Drops Application in Normal Eyes.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of cyclopentolate, tropicamide, and artificial tear drops on higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in normal eyes with OPD-Scan III (Nidek Inc., Tokyo, Japan). METHODS: In this study, 189 eyes of individuals aged 20 to 35 years were selected as samples. Inclusion criteria were a corrected visual acuity of 20/20 or better, a minimum size of about 5 mm for the pupil in the dark, hyperopia and myopia less than 5 D, and astigmatism less than 2 D. Moreover, participants with pathological eye problems, a history of intraocular surgery, and ocular diseases affecting the accommodation, pupil size, and corneal surface were excluded. Higher-order aberrations of the participants were assessed by the OPD-Scan III before and after cyclopentolate (Colircuss), tropicamide (Mydrax 0.5%), and artificial tears (Tearlose) drop instillation. RESULTS: After instilling cyclopentolate drops, the mean of the total root mean square (RMS) increased from 4.580 to 6.335 D, total spherical aberration increased from 0.155 to 0.381 D, and total coma increased from 0.195 to 0.369 D; the increases were significant for total RMS and total spherical aberration, but a significant relationship was not seen with total coma. After tropicamide, the mean aberrations of total RMS increased from 4.301 to 4.568 D, total spherical aberration increased from 0.146 to 0.160 D, and total coma increased from 0.213 to 0.230 D; the increase was only significant for total coma. On the other hand, after artificial tears, the average of all aberrations decreased in a nonsignificant manner. CONCLUSION: Most changes of mean aberrations were related to cyclopentolate drops. Tropicamide and artificial tears had the second and third rank according to their effect on mean errors. As a result, it seems that ocular accommodation is the most important impact on HOA than pupil size. However, the pupil size is the second factor for HOAs.

Changes in functional visual acuity and ocular wavefront aberration after administration of eye ointment.

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of an eye ointment on functional visual acuity (FVA) and ocular wavefront aberration. METHODS: In 11 healthy volunteers (6 men and 5 women), visual function parameters, such as FVA, visual maintenance ratios (VMR), and minimal visual acuity (minVA), were assessed by the FVA measurement system before and 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min after administration of ofloxacin eye ointment. Ocular aberration was also measured, and the root mean square (RMS) of second-, third-, fourth-, and total higher-order aberrations was determined. The time course of changes in each parameter was statistically analyzed by using repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Dunnett post hoc test, and relationships between visual function and ocular aberration parameters were also analyzed by the Pearson correlation test. RESULTS: FVA, VMR, and minVA showed significant deteriorations at 2-, 5-, 10-, and 20 min after administration of eye ointment compared with the baseline values (P<0.05). All components of ocular wavefront aberration such as second-, third-, fourth-, and total higher-order RMS significantly increased at 2- and 5 min after the administration of eye ointment compared with the baseline values (P<0.05). In addition, deteriorations of these visual function parameters were significantly correlated with reduced blink numbers (Pearson's correlation coefficient; r=- 0.76, P=0.017 for FVA, r=0.79, P=0.013 for VMR, and r=-0.62, P=0.040 for minVA), and VMR was significantly related with changes in second-order RMS (r=-0.60, P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Eye ointment significantly reduced visual function for at least 20 min. Especially, minVA was worse than 0.155 logMAR, which is legally required for driving, for 3 h after the administration. In addition, increases in lower-order aberration and low blink rates were associated with the degradation of visual function.