Dextenza vs Prednisolone Acetate After Cataract Surgery for Patients With Diabetes

February 26, 2026 updated by: Baylor Research Institute
This study aims to compare the effectiveness of Dextenza vs standard of care prednisolone taper after cataract surgery in diabetic patients with regards to controlling post-op inflammation at post-op days 7, 14, and 30.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Withdrawn

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The inflammation after cataract surgery is controlled at the investigators' institution by a taper of prednisolone acetate 1%, which consists of four drops daily for one week, followed by three drops daily for one week, then two drops daily for one week, then one drop daily for one week. Due to the frequency of drops needed after cataract surgery, compliance with the post-op regimen often wavers. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Dextenza, which has been shown to be better than placebo after cataract surgery (1), against prednisolone acetate taper. If shown to be as effective without compromising safety, it could be a very convenient alternative to prednisolone acetate taper. Furthermore, if Dextenza is shown to be as effective as prednisolone taper in diabetic patients, it could be logically generalized that it would be effective in patients without diabetes as well, as patients without diabetes (and with no confounding risk factors, such as a history of uveitis) are less prone to developing post-op macular edema. Risks are minimal for this FDA approved treatment and include iridocyclitis (10%); intraocular pressure increased (6%); visual acuity reduced (2%); cystoid macular edema (1%); corneal edema (1%); eye pain (1%) and conjunctival hyperemia (1%). These risks are comparable to prednisolone acetate.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with diagnosed diabetes
  • Patients must be undergoing cataract surgery in each eye
  • Patients must have no worse than moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must not have any history of documented macular edema on OCT
  • Patients must not have any macular edema on pre-op OCT
  • Patients must not have any history of uveitis
  • Patients must not have severe nonproliferative or proliferative diabetic retinopathy
  • Patients with operative complications will be excluded from this study
  • Patients with any active corneal disease, infectious or rheumatologic, will be excluded
  • Patients must not be pregnant

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Prednisolone Arm
Standard post-cataract surgery therapy arm; acts as control in each patient.
Drug: Prednisolone Acetate 1% Oph Susp
Standard Prednisolone taper following cataract surgery, QID for one week, followed by TID for one week, BID for one week, and QDaily for one week, then stop.
Active Comparator: Dextenza Arm
Investigational arm to compare the effectiveness of the Dextenza insert to standard therapy.
Drug: Dextenza 0.4Mg Ophthalmic Insert
Dexamethasone inserted into lower punctum at the end of cataract surgery in order to control inflammation in the eye for the following 30 days after surgery.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Time Frame: 7 days
The investigators will assess the effect of 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert on the presence or absence of inflammation in the eye following cataract surgery when compared to prednisolone acetate 1%.
7 days
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Time Frame: 14 days
The investigators will assess the effect of 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert on the presence or absence of inflammation in the eye following cataract surgery when compared to prednisolone acetate 1%.
14 days
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Time Frame: 30 days
The investigators will assess the effect of 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert on the presence or absence of inflammation in the eye following cataract surgery when compared to prednisolone acetate 1%.
30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Macular Edema
Time Frame: 7 days
The investigators will assess the effect of 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert on the presence or absence of macular edema in the eye on OCT imaging following cataract surgery when compared to prednisolone acetate 1%.
7 days
Macular Edema
Time Frame: 14 days
The investigators will assess the effect of 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert on the presence or absence of macular edema in the eye on OCT imaging following cataract surgery when compared to prednisolone acetate 1%.
14 days
Macular Edema
Time Frame: 30 days
The investigators will assess the effect of 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert on the presence or absence of macular edema in the eye on OCT imaging following cataract surgery when compared to prednisolone acetate 1%.
30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Baylor Research Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 31, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 20, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 20, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 29, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 15, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 27, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • iRIS RB Number 021-167

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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