Aqueous flare a good predictor of CME after cataract surgery

This prospective study found that aqueous flare, a marker for inflammation and breakdown of the blood–retinal barrier, is increased in patients with cystoid macular edema (CME) after cataract surgery.

Subjects were 30 consecutive patients with unilateral clinically significant CME, plus pseudophakic and phakic eyes without CME.

Patients with CME had significantly higher flare values than pseudophakic patients without CME during and after the first month following surgery (both P < 0.0001). However, flare values in CME eyes were always higher and correlated significantly with BCVA but not with retinal thickness.

The authors note that almost all patients with and without CME could be distinguished based on flare values alone.

They suggest that controlling postoperative inflammation through atraumatic surgical techniques and peri- or postoperative drugs might be the key to avoiding or treating CME.