Page 83 - GTM-3-2

Global Translational Medicine

BRIEF REPORT
Assessment of ocular neuropathic pain following

vitreoretinal surgery using 23-gauge sclerotomy

1
1
Hanieh Niktinat , Fardin Yousefshahi , Kaveh Fadakar , Golshan Latifi ,
1
1
Farid Kalantaritarari , Marjan Imani Fooladi , Parichehr Ghahari ,
1
1
2
Mehrdad Goudarzi , and Nazanin Ebrahimiadib *
3
4
1 Department of Ophthalmology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Noor Ophthalmology Research Center, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Anesthesiology, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical
Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United
States of America
Abstract
Ocular neuropathic pain refers to persistent post-operative perception of ocular
discomfort in the absence of painful stimuli. This study investigates persistent ocular
pain following 23-gauge pars plana vitreoretinal surgery. In the present study,
patients who underwent either 23-gauge vitrectomy or silicone oil removal, under
local or general anesthesia, were included. The symptoms of ocular neuropathic pain
were evaluated using the brief pain inventory questionnaire before and 2 months
after surgery. In addition, the impact of reported ocular symptoms on quality of life
was assessed. We also evaluated the correlation between ocular pain and factors such
as patient demographics and underlying systemic conditions. This study includes
*Corresponding author:
Nazanin Ebrahimiadib 75 eyes of 75 patients with an average age of 58.93 ± 12.05 years. Of the included
(nebrahimiadib@ufl.edu) patients, 31 (41.3%) were female. Among the participants, 67 (89.3%) underwent
Citation: Niktinat H, Yousefshahi F, pars plana vitrectomy, and 8 (10.7%) experienced silicone oil removal surgery.
Fadakar K, et al. Assessment of Analysis using paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test, based on data normality,
ocular neuropathic pain following indicated no significant change in eye pain scores 2 months after surgery. However,
vitreoretinal surgery using 23-gauge
sclerotomy. Global Transl Med. the percentage of patients using analgesics increased from 4% before surgery to
2024;3(2):1770. 17.3% 2 months after surgery (P = 0.021). Furthermore, based on a linear regression
doi: 10.36922/gtm.1770 model, patients who reported increased analgesic usage 2 months after surgery also
Received: September 6, 2023 scored worse on the quality-of-life questionnaire (P < 0.05). We also found that those
Accepted: January 25, 2024 who reported ocular pain, facial pain, and photophobia before surgery had a higher
Published Online: April 23, 2024 likelihood of using analgesics after surgery (P = 0.03, 0.003, and 0.001, respectively).
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). In addition, regression analysis revealed that patients with migraine headaches and
This is an Open Access article lower levels of education were more likely to develop eye symptoms postoperatively
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution (P = 0.017 and 0.044, respectively). In conclusion, surgeries involving 23-gauge scleral
License, permitting distribution, incisions do not significantly induce ocular neuropathic pain within 2 months after
and reproduction in any medium, surgery. However, there is an observed increase in the use of analgesics following
provided the original work is
properly cited. surgery.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: Chronic pain; Post-operative pain; Eye pain; Quality of life; Surveys and
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional questionnaires; Vitrectomy
affiliations.

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/gtm.1770