Aqueous Flare and Intraocular Pressure in the Early Period Following Panretinal Photocoagulation in Patient with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) on aqueous flare and intraocular pressure (IOP) in the early period.
METHODS: Eighty-eight eyes of 44 patients were included in the study. The patients underwent a full ophthalmologic ex-amination including the best corrected visual acuity, IOP measured by Goldmann applanation tonometry, biomicroscopy, and dilated fundus examination before PRP. Aqueous flare values were measured by the laser flare meter. Aqueous flare and IOP values were repeated in both eyes at the 1st and 24th h after PRP. The eyes of the patients who underwent PRP were included in the study as the study group, and the other eyes as the control group.
RESULTS: In eyes treated with PRP, 1st h (19.44 pc/ms) and 24th h (18.53 pc/ms) aqueous flare values were statistically higher than before PRP (16.66 pc/ms) (p<0.05). In the study eyes which were similar to the control eyes before PRP, the aqueous flare was higher at the 1st and 24th h after PRP compared to control eyes (p<0.05). The mean IOP at the 1st h (18.69 mmHg) after PRP in study eyes was higher than both pre-PRP (16.25 mmHg) and post-PRP 24th h (16.12 mmHg) IOP values (p<0.001). At the same time, the IOP value at the 1st h after PRP was higher than the control eyes (p=0.001). No correlation was observed between aqueous flare and IOP values.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: An increase in aqueous flare and IOP values was observed after PRP. Besides, the increase in both values starts even in the 1st h, and the values at 1st h are the highest values. At the 24th h, while IOP values return to baseline, aqueous flare values are still high. In patients who may develop severe intraocular inflammation or cannot tolerate increased IOP (such as previous uveitis, neovascular glaucoma, or severe glaucoma), control should be performed at the 1st h after PRP to prevent irreversible complications. Furthermore, the progression that may develop in diabetic retinopathy due to increased inflammation should also be kept in mind.