# The Effect of Intracameral Triamcinolone Acetonide on Controlling Common Complications following Phacoemulsification in Dogs

## TL;DR

Injecting triamcinolone acetonide into dogs' eyes after cataract surgery reduces inflammation and eye pressure better than traditional methods.

## Contribution

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of intracameral triamcinolone acetonide in managing postoperative complications in dogs.

## Key findings

- Intracameral triamcinolone acetonide reduced corneal edema and intraocular pressure in dogs after surgery.
- Higher doses of triamcinolone acetonide significantly lowered protein and prostaglandin E2 levels in the aqueous humor.
- The treatment was shown to be safe and effective for managing postoperative complications in veterinary ophthalmology.

## Abstract

At present, local eye drops, subconjunctival injection, and systemic administration of corticosteroids are the most common methods to control complications in dogs after phacoemulsification. However, these methods are limited by a high frequency of administration, systemic drug reactions in dogs, poor compliance among owners, and high care requirements. In this study, triamcinolone acetonide was injected into the anterior chambers of dogs after phacoemulsification to observe and evaluate its effects on controlling postoperative complications. The intraocular pressure, corneal edema, aqueous flare, aqueous humor protein concentration, and prostaglandin E2 concentration in these dogs were measured and evaluated at different time points before and after surgery. The findings confirmed that the intracameral injection of triamcinolone acetonide achieved a favorable effect on controlling transient ocular hypertension and corneal edema after phacoemulsification in dogs. Moreover, the intracameral injection of 1.5 mg of triamcinolone acetonide decreased the protein and prostaglandin E2 concentrations in the aqueous humor of dogs after surgery. It was demonstrated that triamcinolone acetonide-based treatment can be safely employed to effectively control common complications after phacoemulsification in dogs. Therefore, this treatment method is worthy of clinical application.

The intracameral injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) has achieved favorable clinical effects in controlling intraocular inflammatory reactions in humans after cataract surgery. However, the effect of this method remains unclear in veterinary practice. In this paper, 18 dogs with bilateral cataracts were randomly divided into three groups, with 6 dogs in each group. Phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation were performed on the 36 eyes of these dogs. A total of 0.1 mL of TA solution was injected into the oculus dexter (OD) anterior chambers. All oculus sinister (OS) anterior chambers of these dogs were used as controls. The results demonstrated that the corneal edema severity scores of the OD (1.5 mg TA) were lower than those of the OS from the 1st to 7th day after surgery, with a significant difference on the 3rd day after surgery (p = 0.033). The corneal edema severity scores in the OD (1.5 mg TA) were significantly lower than those in the OD (0.5 mg TA) on the 3rd day after surgery (p = 0.036). The aqueous humor protein concentration of the OD (1.5 mg TA) had a lower concentration than the OS on the 1st day after surgery (p = 0.004). Furthermore, on the 5th and 10th days, the aqueous humor protein concentration of the OD (1.5 mg TA) was lower than that of the OS (p = 0.038 and p = 0.044, respectively). The aqueous humor PGE2 concentration of the OD (1.5 mg TA) had a lower concentration than the OS on the 1st day after surgery (p = 0.026). The aqueous humor PGE2 concentrations in the OD (1.0 mg TA) and OD (1.5 mg TA) were lower compared to that in the OD (0.5 mg TA) on the 1st day after surgery (p = 0.041 and p = 0.037, respectively). It was demonstrated that TA-based treatment can be safely employed to effectively control common complications after phacoemulsification in dogs.