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Clear hydro-gel, compared to ointment, provides improved eye comfort after brief surgery

[Un hydrogel clair, comparé à une pommade, améliore le confort après une brève intervention chirurgicale]

Michaela Smolle, RN^*, Christian Keller, MD^*, Germar Pinggera, MD, Martina Deibl, MSc, Josef Rieder, MD^* and Philipp Lirk, MD^*

^* From the Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine,
Urology, and
Biostatistics and Documentation, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Philipp Lirk, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Phone: +43-512-504-2400; Fax: +43-512-504-2450; E-mail: Philipp.Lirk{at}uibk.ac.at

Purpose: Anesthesia impairs lid closure and decreases tear secretion and stability. Protection may, in principle, be conveyed by manual eye closure, taping the eyelids closed, and by instillation of protective substances into the conjunctival sac. Both hydro-gels and ointments are used in clinical practice. It was the objective of the present study to compare a transparent clear ocular hydro-gel (Vidisic®) and a commonly used dexpanthenol and vitamin A (Oleovit®) based ointment as examples of these classes of ocular lubricants in their capability to provide perioperative eye comfort. Furthermore, their bacteriostatic properties were assessed in vitro.

Methods: Ninety-two consecutive patients undergoing total iv general anesthesia were randomly allocated to receive either ocular dexpanthenol ointment or a clear hydro-gel after induction of anesthesia. Subjects were assessed one hour following termination of anesthesia.

Results: Main findings were an increased incidence of foreign body sensation, adherent eyelashes and disturbance elicited by blurred vision in the ointment group as compared to clear hydro-gel (P < 0.001). Bacterial growth was significantly attenuated by the ocular hydro-gel as compared to ointment.

Discussion: Clear ocular hydro-gel offers improved patient comfort and decreased ocular inflammation as compared to conventional eye ointments. In addition, it decreases bacterial growth. Therefore, the use of clear ocular hydro-gel for perioperative ocular comfort is suggested.