Adjunctive Huoxue Huayu Therapy and Postoperative Outcomes in Cataract Patients with Allergic Conjunctivitis: A Retrospective Cohort Study

This retrospective cohort study evaluated the association of adjunctive Huoxue Huayu therapy with postoperative outcomes in cataract patients with concomitant allergic conjunctivitis. We analyzed 158 patients who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation between June 2024 and June 2025, with one predefined study eye included per patient. All patients received standard postoperative pharmacologic therapy, and 79 additionally received Huoxue Huayu therapy through routine physician-patient decision-making. Patient-level propensity scores were estimated using multivariable logistic regression, followed by 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching without replacement; repeated outcomes were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. After matching, 78 patients were retained in each group with balanced baseline characteristics. At postoperative day 7, near visual acuity was 0.30 ± 0.10 in the adjunctive-treatment group and 0.20 ± 0.08 in the control group, while distance visual acuity was 0.70 ± 0.20 and 0.60 ± 0.15, respectively. Ocular Surface Disease Index scores were consistently lower in the adjunctive-treatment group at 7 days, 1 month, and 3 months. Day-7 serum interleukin-6 levels were 18.43 ± 4.27 versus 26.71 ± 5.93 pg/mL, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were 23.56 ± 5.18 versus 34.82 ± 7.41 pg/mL. The adjunctive-treatment group also had lower aqueous flare grades, higher visual-function and cataract-specific quality-of-life scores, and fewer 30-day macular-edema events (2.56% vs. 14.10%). No serious treatment-related adverse events were documented. Adjunctive Huoxue Huayu therapy was associated with more favorable postoperative clinical, patient-reported, and serum inflammatory-marker outcomes; however, the retrospective nonrandomized design precludes conclusions regarding efficacy or causality.