Objectives: No guidelines are available in France for peribulbar block for eye procedures. It is our hypothesis that continued use of acetyl salicylic acid for forestalling myocardial or cerebrovascular ischemic events does not increase the risk of hemorrhage, compared with discontinuation of its use in patients who undergo eye procedures under peribulbar block.
Methods: For this prospective control study we enrolled two groups of 500 patients scheduled for intra-ocular eye surgery requiring a peribulbar block. Patients treated with acetyl salicylic acid were included in group A (500 patients). Patients who had never been treated with acetyl salicylic acid constituted the control group (group B: 500 patients). Hemorrhages were graded as follows: 1=spot ecchymosis; 2=lid ecchymosis involving half of the lid surface area or less; 3=lid ecchymosis all around the eye, without increase in intra-ocular pressure; 4=retrobulbar hemorrhage with increased intraocular pressure.
Results: In group A, lid hemorrhages (grade 1) were observed in 30 patients (6.0%). No grade 2, 3 or 4 hemorrhages were encountered in this group. In group B, lid hemorrhage (grade 1) was observed in 20 patients (4.0%) and grade 2 in one patient (0.2 %), but no grade 3 or 4 hemorrhages were encountered. Statistical tests showed the absence of significance between both groups.
Conclusion: We conclude that between the groups with and without pre-operative acetyl salicylic acid the occurrence rate of lid hemorrhage was not significant in peribulbar block.
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