A Prospective Trial Of Postoperative Lodoxamide (Alomide) On Pterygium Recurrence

Abstract

Background: To compare pterygium recurrence after bare sclera excision with and without topical lodoxamide. Design: Randomised double-blind study. Methods: The study involved 61 patients with primary pterygia who had bare sclera excision after informed consent. They were post-operatively treated by either of 2 treatment groups for 4 weeks, with a 30-months follow-up: Controls/placebo = Guttae prednisolone 1% with chloramphenicol 0.5% plus guttae distilled water. Test group = Guttae prednisolone 1% with chloramphenicol 0.5% plus guttae lodoxamide 0.1%. Results: Sixty patients were analysed. Control Group had 20 females and 10 males, aged 28-69.5 years, mean 42.0(± 10.9). Test Group had 15 males and 15 females, aged 17-75 years, mean 46.0(±12.6). Recurrence for the Test Group was 11(37%) within 30 months and 11(37%) for the Control Group within 30 months (OR=1.00, CI: 0.35-2.858). Main complications encountered were granuloma: 7(11.7%) from the controls and 5(8.3%) from the test group; restriction in the motility of medial rectus muscle: 1(1.7%) from each group; persistent vascularisation at site of excision: 1(1.7%) from each group and adherence leukoma with uveitis 1(1.7%) from the control group, the latter also had persistent peripheral corneal epithelial defect later resulting in a dellen. No significant difference was found between the treatment groups with respect to recurrence, type and time of complications, orientation and morphology of pterygium, P>0.05. Conclusion: The recurrence of pterygium is high (about one third) with or without the use of adjuvant lodoxamide.