Serum concentration of triamcinolone acetonide used for visualisation during vitrectomy
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ohtsuka Eye Hospital, Sapporo, Japan
- Correspondence to Dr Taiichi Hikichi, Ohtsuka Eye Hospital, Kita-16 Nishi-4, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0016, Japan; taiichi-hikichi{at}hokkaido.med.or.jp
- Accepted 18 November 2009
- Published Online First 8 June 2010
Triamcinolone acetonide (TA), a water-insoluble steroid, has been used to assist visualisation of the vitreous gel.1 2 Because information about the systemic absorption of TA used during vitrectomy has not been reported, we measured the serum concentration of TA used during vitrectomy in this study.
Blood samples were obtained from 10 patients preoperatively and various time points postoperatively to determine changes in the serum TA concentration. Since the TA concentration peaked about 3 h postoperatively (figure 1), serum samples were obtained from 20 patients preoperatively and 3 h postoperatively. The mean age (SD) of the 30 patients (18 men, 12 women) was 65 (6) years. The current research followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided informed consent. The institutional review board at Ohtsuka Eye Hospital approved the study. …
