The Effects Of Opto-Fluorocaine On The Human Cornea.

Our study was to analyze the possible toxic effects of the drug Opto-fluorocaine, which is used to perform applanation tonometry, on the human cornea. The active ingredients in
Opto-fluorocaine are proparacaine hydrochloride 0.5% and fluorescein sodium 0.25%. Thimerosal 0.01% is used as the preservative. The experiment was conducted by taking a random sample of 155 patients. Prior to tonometry, we instilled one drop of Opto-fluorocaine into the left eye, while one drop of proparacaine HCL 0.5% and a fluorescein strip was used in the right eye as a control. The corneal integrity was evaluated for any adverse reactions. Any asymmetrical response was assumed to be the result of a thimerosal hypersensitivity. Bilateral responses were assumed to be related to the proparacaine HCL.