Abstract
This study aimed to assess the impact of 6 hours of postoperative nasal oxygen therapy on early-stage corneal edema in patients with nuclear cataracts of grades 3 to 4. A retrospective study involved 49 patients (49 eyes) with grades 3 to 4 nuclear cataracts undergoing phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation from September 2021 to September 2022. The oxygen group (27 cases) received postoperative nasal oxygen therapy for 6 hours, while the control group (22 cases) received no additional treatment. Corneal edema was evaluated 24 hours postoperatively using a slit lamp microscope, recording the edema degree. The Pentacam anterior segment analyzer measured central corneal thickness (CCT), corneal volume (CV), and corneal optical density (COD) values preoperatively and 24 hours postoperatively. The study enrolled 49 patients. Preoperatively, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups. The oxygen group and the control group exhibited significant differences in CCT, CV, and corneal optical density values before and after surgery for intragroup comparison (all P < .05). At 24 hours postoperatively, the proportion of grade 0 corneal edema in the oxygen therapy group was 59.3%, compared to 31.8% in the control group, with no statistically significant difference (P > .05). The postoperative logMAR visual acuity in the oxygen therapy group was 0.0969 (0.0969, 0.2218), and in the control group it was 0.0969 (0.2218, 0.3979), with a statistically significant difference (P < .05). In oxygen group, the CCT, CV were 585.00 (553.00, 604.00), 68.0 (61.9, 71.3) respectively, all significantly lower than 603.50 (578.50, 788.25), 73.05 (65.3, 75.73) (all P < .05). Statistically significant differences were found in overall COD, COD within specific depth and thickness ranges, and COD within the anterior layer (120 μm thickness) at 24 hours postoperatively (all P < .05). No significant difference was observed in COD values within the central and posterior layers (60 μm thickness) between the 2 groups (all P > .05). Postoperative nasal oxygen therapy for 6 hours immediately after surgery could alleviate the severity of early-stage corneal edema in patients with nuclear cataracts of grades 3 to 4.