Postoperative dry eye assessments
conjunctival, itching, tearing, PD, photophobia
There was a significant increase in fluorescein corneal staining in the PD group at the week 2 visit compared to baseline. No significant change in fluorescein staining in the PFD group was observed. Both groups showed a significant increase in lissamine green conjunctival staining (Table The change between preoperative (baseline) and postoperative (week 2) mean measures and 95% confidence intervals in the PFD (preservative-free dexamethasone) and PD (preserved dexamethasone) groups (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Significant differences with p < 0.05 are marked with *.There was no significant change between pre- and postoperative subjective symptoms such as itching, photophobia and tearing in either group, except foreign body sensation, which was significantly greater at week 2 in the PD group (p = 0.04, Pearson’s Chi-square).At week 2, a significant lowering of IOP in the PFD group was observed (p = 0.0005, Wilcoxon signed rank-test), while in the PD group, there was no change in IOP compared to baseline. Between-group comparisons showed a significantly lower IOP in the PFD group at week 2 (p = 0.04, Mann–Whitney The mean AC cells grading was higher in the PFD group (0.28 ± 0.30) than in the PD group (0.07 ± 0.18) at the week 2 visit (p = 0.013, Mann–Whitney 