The effect of acetyl-salicylic-acid pretreatment on re-formed aqueous humor. A study of intracapsular lens extraction in the human eye.

Aqueous humor (a.h.) was sampled in 67 patients operated on for cataract by intracapsular lens extraction at the start and finish of surgery. Twenty eight of these patients received pretreatment with acetyl-salicylic acid (ASA), to a total of 2.5 g, beginning 18 hours prior to surgery. A serum sample was drawn immediately following the operation from 55 patients. Using radial immunodiffusion, albumin and IgG were measured in primary and secondary a.h. and in serum. The group pretreated with ASA showed a significantly smaller relative increase of IgG (P < 0.05). The increase of the proteins, however, showed no dependence on their serum-level and the only side-effect of the treatment was an unexplained rise in serum-albumin. The possible clinical application of patients with a high risk of postoperative complications is briefly summarized.