Chronic subclinical inflammation in phakic eyes with intraocular lenses to correct myopia.

PURPOSE

To evaluate whether either of two anterior chamber intraocular lenses (IOLs) implanted in myopic, phakic eyes induced an inflammatory response that was measurable with a laser flare-cell meter but that could not be measured by other methods.

SETTING

Jiménez-Díaz Foundation and San Carlos University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.

METHODS

Thirty eyes with a Worst-Fechner IOL and 30 eyes with a Baikoff ZB5M IOL were evaluated using the flare mode of a laser flare-cell meter. Patients in each group were divided into three subgroups of 10 eyes each according to when the postoperative flare measurements were done: 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. Thirteen phakic eyes with myopia greater than -6.00 diopters were used as controls.

RESULTS

Postoperative flare in the Worst-Fechner group was 27.05 +/- 19 photons per millisecond (photons/ms) (mean +/- SD) at 12 months, 18.09 +/- 17.38 photons/ms at 18 months, and 31.03 +/- 28.8 photons/ms at 24 months. Postoperative flare in the Baikoff group was 21.1 +/- 5.9 photons/ms at 12 months, 16.13 +/- 8.3 photons/ms at 18 months, and 21.05 +/- 23.5 photons/ms at 24 months. Flare in the control group was 4.24 +/- 2.8 photons/ms. Postoperative flare values were significantly higher in both IOL groups than in the control group at all follow-ups (Mann-Whitney test, P < .05). Postoperative flare values in the Worst-Fechner group were higher than in the Baikoff group at 12, 18, and 24 months, although the difference was not significant (Mann-Whitney test, P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows chronic subclinical inflammation between 1 and 2 years after implantation of both IOL types.