Prednisolone is an example of which type of ophthalmic medication?

• A. Steroid
• B. NSAID
• C. Antibiotic
• D. Anesthetic

Answer: (A)

Prednisolone is a corticosteroid, so the category being tested is steroids used in the eye to control inflammation. In ocular tissues, steroids work by dampening the immune response and inflammatory cascades, which reduces swelling, redness, and pain. They do this in part by inhibiting pathways that produce inflammatory mediators like prostaglandins. Because of this potent anti-inflammatory effect, topical steroids are commonly used after eye surgery, for allergic or inflammatory conditions, and for certain inflammatory eye diseases such as uveitis.

This is distinct from NSAIDs, which also reduce inflammation but do so by inhibiting cyclooxygenase enzymes to lower prostaglandin production. It’s not an antibiotic, which would target bacterial infection, nor an anesthetic, which numbs sensation.