Diagnostic Mydriasis: Any Effects on Systolic Blood Pressure?

Aims: To determine the effects of diagnostic mydriasis using 1% tropicamide and 2.5% phenylephrine on the systolic blood pressures of patients attending the Eye Clinic of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

Study Design: Interventional comparative hospital based study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, between November 2016 and January 2017.

Methodology: This was an interventional ‘within-patient’ comparative hospital-based study conducted over 3 months, in which the eyes of 137 subjects requiring pupillary dilatation for dilated fundus examination received 1% tropicamide and 2.5% phenylephrine. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rates, pre and post dilation intraocular pressures (IOP), were amongst the parameters measured.

Results: There were 137 study participants - 86 males (62.8%) and 51 females (37.2%). The mean age of participants was 44.87±15.94 years. The highest proportion of participants had refractive errors - 53.3% and 54.0% in the right and left eyes respectively. There were slight reductions in systolic (122.54±16.89 mmHg to 122.51±20.88 mmHg) and diastolic (79.35±11.47 mmHg to 78.12±12.62 mmHg) blood pressures. These differences in BP were however not statistically significant (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between Systolic blood pressure and Post dilation IOP (p=0.0001).