Tranexamic acid and corneal deturgescence.

Recent work has demonstrated decreased corneal thickness in patients with Fuch's dystrophy and in patients following cataract extraction who were given systemic acid. Although tranexamic acid is a known antifibrinolytic drug its mechanism in reducing corneal thickness is not known. This experiment demonstrated no increase in the rate of corneal deturgescence of swollen rabbit corneas in the specular microscope when they were perfused for three h with 1 mM or 10 mM tranexamic acid. Pre-treatment of rabbits with intravenous tranexamic acid for three days and subsequent perfusion of corneas with tranexamic acid 10 mM also did not increase the rate of corneal deturgescence when compared with controls.