Reduction of Inflammation Following Cataract Surgery by the Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug, Flurbiprofen

In this double-masked clinical trial, 72 patients undergoing cataract extraction surgery received a topical loading dose of 0.03% flurbiprofen or vehicle before surgery and one drop four times daily for 2 weeks after surgery. The severity of conjunctival hyperemia, aqueous humor cells, and aqueous humor flare was lower in the flurbiprofen-treated group than in the vehicle-treated group at all follow-up visits; the differences were significant on day 14. Four patients treated with flurbiprofen and two treated with vehicle exhibited postoperative hyphemas. Treatment with flurbiprofen appeared to decrease the severity of inflammation following cataract extraction surgery.