Harrow announced in a press release positive results from a prospective, randomized, contralateral-eye study evaluating chloroprocaine hydrochloride ophthalmic gel 3 (Iheezo; Harrow), an ophthalmic gel indicated for ocular surface anesthesia, in patients undergoing same-day bilateral intravitreal injections. The single-center, investigator-initiated study demonstrated statistically significant differences favoring Iheezo at every measured time point.

According to Harrow, patients reported approximately 58% less discomfort overall in the Iheezo-treated eye than in the fellow eye treated with proparacaine ophthalmic solution 0.5%, a statistically significant difference at all 4 postinjection assessments (all p≤0.048). The largest absolute treatment differences were observed immediately after injection, when discomfort is highest: 1.44 vs 3.06 at 2 minutes and 1.26 vs 2.82 at 1 hour, while lower discomfort scores with Iheezo remained evident through the 24-hour assessment.

Iheezo was associated with lower patient-reported discomfort at all 4 postinjection assessments, measured using a standard 0-to-10 numeric rating scale at 2 minutes, 1 hour, 6 to 12 hours, and 24 hours following injection. The absolute treatment differences were 1.62 points at 2 minutes and 1.56 points at 1 hour, and lower discomfort scores with Iheezo remained evident through the 24-hour assessment.

Travis Peck, MD, of Retina Consultants of Delmarva, was principal investigator on the study, which evaluated 100 eyes from 50 adult patients undergoing same-day bilateral intravitreal injections. Both eyes received 2% lidocaine-soaked pledgets prior to administration of the randomized study anesthetic.