Background and objectives: Tamsulosin can cause intraoperative floppy iris syndrome and increase the risk of phacoemulsification complications. This study evaluated whether the risk of complications was associated with the timing or duration of preoperative tamsulosin exposure.
Patients and methods: The current study was a retrospective review of electronic medical records of resident-performed phacoemulsification surgeries from 1998 to 2008 at a Veterans Administration Hospital. There were 73 eyes with recent tamsulosin exposure (within 30 days preoperatively) and 28 eyes with remote exposure (> 30 days preoperatively but within 3 years of surgery).
Results: There was a trend toward more total complications in recent compared with remote tamsulosin exposure cases (31.5% vs 14.3%, P = .09). A longer duration of tamsulosin use was not statistically associated with an increased risk of total complications.
Conclusion: The authors were unable to detect a statistically significant effect of duration of tamsulosin use on the risk of intraoperative complications in phacoemulsification surgery.
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