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Urinary drug linked to cataract issues

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The New York Times

Published: May 21, 2009

Older men using a popular drug to treat urinary problems are more than twice as likely as those who do not to suffer serious complications after cataract surgery, also a common treatment among older adults, a study has found.

The medication, tamsulosin hydrochloride, sold as Flomax, relieves urinary problems in men with enlarged prostates by relaxing smooth muscle in the prostate and bladder. But the drug seems to have a similar effect on smooth muscle in the iris of the eye, complicating cataract surgery by causing a condition called floppy iris syndrome.

The new study, published in this week's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first large analysis of serious adverse events after cataract surgery in patients taking the drug. It was accompanied by an editorial suggesting that federal authorities consider a "black box" warning label for the drug.

The study analyzed the post-surgical complications experienced by 96,128 men ages 66 and older who had cataract surgery in Ontario from 2002 to 2007.

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