Flomax Associated with Complications After Ophthalmologic Surgery

Men taking tamsulosin (Flomax) for benign prostatic hypertrophy face higher risks for intraoperative floppy iris syndrome and its complications (retinal detachment, lost lens or fragments, or endophthalmitis), according to a retrospective study in JAMA.


Researchers used Ontario health databases to examine a possible association between exposure to tamsulosin or other alpha-blocking drugs in men aged 66 or older before cataract surgery and adverse outcomes within 2 weeks after the operation. They found that men who experienced complications were more than twice as likely to have been exposed to tamsulosin (but not the other drugs) in the 2 weeks before surgery, compared with those without adverse events.


The authors calculate a number needed to harm of 255.


Tamsulosin selectively targets sites common to both bladder and iris relaxation, and the authors speculate this may be the reason for the adverse effects. An editorialist suggests that tamsulosin may require a black-box warning to caution both patients and surgeons