The Effect Of Localin Drops Versus Tetracaine In Reducing Pain During Refractive Surgery

 To investigate the difference between Localin and Tetracaine in reducing pain during refractive surgery

Care-Vision Laser Eye Surgery Center

A retrospective, single-center cross-sectional study investigating the effect of local anesthetic drops, Localin versus Tetracaine on postoperative pain levels. Patients received either Localin or Tetracaine eye drops, administered three times during preoperative preparation and four additional times at different stages throughout the surgery. Patients were asked what was the level of pain during the surgery, how was their surgical experience, how long was the waiting time, and how long was the perceived duration of surgery. Overall responses were rated on a scale from 1 to 5. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, we compared the survey responses between the two groups.

A total of 123 patients were included in this study. The Tetracaine group had 70 (56%) patients, and the Localin group had 53 (43%) patients. mean age was 22.9 ± 9 years, with 51% female. Most (42%) patients rated the surgical pain as mild (level 2). Average pain level: Tetracaine 2.17 ±0.9, and Localin 2.09 ±0.9 (p > 0.05). Most (65%) rated the surgical experience as relaxed (level 1), with no statistically significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). 40% rated the perceived waiting time for surgery as moderate (level 3), with no statistical difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). Finally, 86% of the patients ranked the perceived surgery time as short (level 1), with no difference between the two groups (p > 0.05).

There was no difference in the reduction of surgical pain between patients who received Localin and those who received Tetracaine before and during refractive surgery