Blood pressure change during phacoemulsification and femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery

·AIM: To evaluate blood pressure(BP) changes during phacoemulsification(PC) and femtosecond laser(FSL)-assisted cataract surgery.·METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients who received traditional phacoemulsification surgery(PC group) and FSL-assisted cataract surgery(FS group) from July 2013 to December 2014. Totally 206 eyes from 133 patients receiving the two types of procedures were included.Patient characteristics(age, gender, and hypertension history), pre- and post-operative BPs were collected.·RESULTS: The pro-operative systolic and diastolic BPs(mm Hg) were 124.89 ±20.48 vs 126.98 ±16.85, and71.88 ±9.81 vs 73.56 ±10.03, in PC and FS groups,respectively. While the post-operative systolic and diastolic BPs(mm Hg) were 130.13 ±22.59 vs 134.77 ±17.52, and 73.41 ±11.62 vs 78.89 ±12.2, in PC and FS groups, respectively. Paired-sample t-tests showed obvious systolic and diastolic BP elevations in FS group after surgery(P =0.001 and 0.007) and no reliability in PC group(P =0.094 and 0.359). A linear regression model revealed systolic and diastolic BP elevations,which were related to longer surgical times for FS group(P =0.008 and 0.021). Age, gender, and hypertension history were not correlated with blood pressure elevation in either group.·CONCLUSION: BP increases but at a limited level after FSL-assisted cataract surgery compared to traditional