A recent study evaluated topical steroid response after uneventful cataract surgery in patients with and without glaucoma and found that patients with the disease were 3.72 times more likely to respond to therapy.

The retrospective review included 191 eyes with and 472 eyes without glaucoma who underwent cataract surgery with no prior incisional glaucoma surgery. Each patient routinely received topical prednisolone acetate 1% postoperatively.

The study revealed that 2.1% of non-glaucoma eyes and 8.4% of glaucoma eyes were classified as steroid responders. Upon analysis, the researchers found that, for non-glaucomatous eyes, longer axial length (AL) and younger age were significantly associated with a higher incidence of steroid response, while longer AL and more preoperative medications were risk factors for glaucomatous eyes. They reported that an AL greater than or equal to 26mm was associated with a steroid response in both groups.

The investigators concluded that although glaucoma patients were at increased risk for steroid response after uneventful cataract surgery, the incidence of response was “relatively low” after phaco in both groups. “Better identification of patients at risk for steroid-induced IOP elevation can aid in the clinical management of glaucoma patients,” the researchers wrote in their paper.