To evaluate the effect of non-preserved tetracaine 0.5% on pain alleviation in the first day after trans-epithelial photorefractive keratectomy (T-PRK) surgery.

This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 38 patients who were candidates for T-PRK surgery. To alleviate post-surgery pain, standard treatment including contact lens, artificial tears, betamethasone, chloramphenicol, and placebo drop (BSS) was administered in one randomly selected eye every 4 hours while in the fellow eye, eye drops of non-preserved tetracaine 0.5% replaced placebo. Post op date 1 after surgery, patients were evaluated for pain, epiphora, burning sensation, photophobia, foreign body sensation and duration of epithelial repair.

Eighteen patients (47%) were male and 20 (52%) were female. Numeric Scale of Pain showed that the severity of pain was 3.4±0.5 for the case group and 3.5±0.4 for the control one, but the difference was not significant (p=0.75). Also, there was no difference regarding the burning sensation (p=0.58), epiphora (p=0.19), foreign body sensation (p=0.52) and photophobia (p=0.11).

Non-preserved tetracaine 0.5% drop had no effect on pain alleviation in the first day after T-PRK surgery.