Abstract
Purpose :
There has been significant strides to increase cataract surgical output in Ghana, with advances in technology also leading to improvement in cataract surgical outcomes. However, technology such as biometry is not readily available in all parts of the country. The purpose of this study was to assess post-operative visual acuity (VA) outcomes in patients with and without pre-operative biometry.
Methods :
This was a retrospective study where medical records of patients (aged 40-100) who reported to an eye clinic in Ghana from 2013-2019 were reviewed. All surgeries were performed by the same ophthalmologist. Included in the study were: patients aged ≥40 years; patients with complete records who reported for 1-3 months follow up visits; patients without other existing ocular conditions. Data on patient demographics, type of surgery, intra-ocular lens (PCIOL) power, availability of biometry, pre- and post-operative VA were analyzed. PCIOL power for patients without pre-operative biometry were predicted using patients’ age, gender, and pre-operative refraction status.
Results :
A total of 319 records were reviewed with 222 meeting the inclusion criteria. The mean±SD age of patients was 64.62±12.93 years. The majority (82.4%) of patients had a pre-operative VA of <3/60. Only 36.0% had pre-operative biometry. The mean±SD PCIOL were 21.03±1.10 D and 21.17±0.57 D for patients with and without biometry respectively. Small incision cataract surgery with PCIOL was the main surgical extraction method used (99.5%).Post-operative uncorrected VA after 1 month was: 6/6-6/18 (26.6%), <6/18-6/60 (41.8%), and <6/60 (31.6%) in patients with pre-operative biometry; 6/6-6/18 (19%), <6/18-6/60 (40.9%), and <6/60 (40.1%) in patients without pre-operative biometry. Post-operative corrected VA after 3 months was: 6/6-6/18 (80.8%), <6/18-6/60 (11.5%), and <6/60 (7.7%) in patients with pre-operative biometry; 6/6-6/18 (62.5%), <6/18-6/60 (21.9%), and <6/60 (15.6%) in patients without pre-operative biometry. There was no significant association between pre-operative biometry and 3-month post-operative corrected VA [X2(2, N=58)=2.38, p=.31].
Conclusions :
There was no significant influence of pre-operative biometry on post-operative VA outcomes in our study. However, given that a remarkable proportion of patients were moderately visually impaired after surgery, it is important to improve pre-operative biometry techniques.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.