Purpose: To evaluate the effective prophylaxis of topical 0.5% timolol maleate for the intraocular pressure rise following Nd-YAG laser posterior capsulotomy.
Methods: A total of 190 eyes of 184 patients who underwent Nd-YAG laser posterior capsulotomy were randomly assigned to pre-treatment with either topical application of 0.5% timolol maleate (treatment group) or nothing (control group).
Results: The mean intraocular pressure (IOP) of the treatment group was 14.8+/-3.0 mmHg before capsulotomy and 15.7+/-3.4 mmHg after capsulotomy (P>0.05), whereas IOP was 15.1+/-3.3 mmHg and 17. 2+/-4.3 mmHg (P<0.05) for the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to mean IOP before capsulotomy (P>0.05), but a statistically significant difference was seen between the two groups after capsulotomy (P<0.05). Six of 91 eyes (6.6%, two with aphakia) in the treatment group had an IOP elevation greater than 6 mmHg compared with 14 of 99 eyes (14.1%, eight with aphakia) in the control group (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Pre-treatment with a topical application of 0.5% timolol maleate is effective in preventing IOP elevation after Nd-YAG laser posterior capsulotomy.