The Melbourne Catalin Trial Current Protocol and Some Early Results
Hector Maclean · Australian Journal of Opthalmology · 2008
This paper describes the protocol evolved for a double blind prospective trial to determine any possible effect on cortical cataract of the drug Catalin. Riboflavin is the placebo chosen to afford a close colour match. Careful patient selection is necessary to maintain a homogenous population, and indications for excluding would-be volunteers are listed. Different strata are constructed for analyses purposes, based on the amount of cortical cataract present and the age of the patient. Analysis is based on the findings at two-monthly examinations of visual acuity, slit lamp estimation of change in cataract by drawing, and analysis of stereo slit lamp photographs. The conversions used to translate clinical findings into arithmetic values for statistical analyses are given. The results so far obtained have been decoded only as far as the alpha equivalents of the drug. There are statistically significant differences in some parameters between the two groups.