Comparing The Effects Of Pre Surgical Versus Post Surgical Treatment With Voltaren Ophthalmic Solution For The Control Of Inflammation In Postoperative Cataract Patients.

In 1996, the FDA approved Voltaren Ophthalmic Solution (diclofenac sodium .1 %), a topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication, for the treatment of postoperative inflammation in patients who had undergone cataract extraction. The availability of Voltaren Ophthalmic provided the first alternative to steroid medications for the reduction of ocular inflammation.
The approved dosage protocol for post cataract extraction is one drop of Voltaren Ophthalmic to the surgical eye four times a day for two weeks after surgery. Recently, Ciba Vision Ophthalmics, the manufacturer of Voltaren, has claimed that better control of inflammation is achieved by initiating treatment with the drug prior to surgery. With the approval and cooperation of Ciba Vision Ophthalmics, I developed an on-site clinical trial which compared postoperative inflammation in patients treated with Voltaren four times a day for three days before surgery, versus patients who began treatment 24 hours after cataract surgery, per current FDA protocol. By direct comparison of the two groups, I determined if there was a clinically significant difference found in the post surgical inflammatory levels.