Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the treatment of cystoid macular edema (CME) post Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK).
Study design: Retrospective observational study METHODS: In this study of 334 patients who underwent DSAEK at the Baptist Eye Institute, Kyoto, Japan between July 2011 and December 2015, 18 patients with postoperative CME (determined by optical coherence tomography) treated with topical NSAIDs after the onset of CME were included.
Results: At CME onset, 17 of the 18 patients were treated with bromfenac eye drops and 1 was treated with nepafenac eye drops. Post initiation of treatment with topical NSAIDs, CME in 17 (94.4%) of the 18 patients improved at 1 month and all cases completely recovered within 3 months. At 12-months post initiation of treatment, 61.1% (n = 11) of patients achieved a visual acuity (VA) of 20/40 or better, and there was no significant difference of VA between the patients with or without an episode of postoperative CME (P = 0.55).
Conclusion: The administration of topical NSAID eye drops was found to be effective in treating patients with CME post DSAEK.
Keywords: Cystoid macular edema; Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty; Endothelial keratoplasty; Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.