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  • Phenylephrine 2.5% and 10% in phacoemulsification under topical anaesthesia: is there an effect on systemic blood pressure?

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Phenylephrine 2.5% and 10% in phacoemulsification under topical anaesthesia: is there an effect on systemic blood pressure?
  1. N B Kenawy,
  2. M Jabir
  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Rotherham General Hospital, Moorgate Road, Oakwood, Rotherham S60 2UD, UK
  1. Correspondence to: Dr N Kenawy; nkenawy{at}yahoo.co.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo.87.4.505

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    Phenylephrine 10% leads to a faster and more pronounced mydriasis but cardiovascular effects like hypertension and arrhythmias have been reported. In a young healthy adult the upper limit of safety for intravenous administration of phenylephrine is 1.5 mg1 and Kumar et al2 had found phenylephrine plasma levels after administration of topical 10% viscous solution to their patients to be 1.842–11.526 ng/ml after 20 minutes while topical 2.5% aqueous solution produced plasma levels of 0–1.720 ng/ml after 20 minutes. They concluded that the mean pressure tended to be higher with the 10% viscous solution.

    Chin et al,3 in their study on 89 patients, concluded that significant hypertensive effects can arise after topical phenylephrine; however, no significant difference between the two groups (2.5% v 10%) was shown. Symons et al4 reported no significant change in the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure in …

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