Evaluating the accuracy and utility of a cataract simulation video for relieving patient anxiety

Abstract

Purpose : Patient anxiety about cataract surgery can lead to undesired outcomes before and during surgery. We performed a cross-sectional survey-based study to test whether a point-of-view cataract simulation video could (1) accurately represent what patients see during surgery and (2) help relieve patient anxiety.

Methods : In follow-up clinical visits, 100 cataract surgery patients were shown a video depicting cataract surgery from a patient’s point of view. The patients were then given a multiple-choice questionnaire about their recollections of visual experiences from surgery. They were asked to evaluate how well the video matched their experience, whether they would have wanted to see the video before their operations, and whether they would recommend the video to other patients.
Patients received surgery with monitored anesthesia care (MAC). Patients younger than 18 years or with a post-operative best-correct visual acuity worse than 20/50 in both eyes were excluded. The simulation video was created in by performing cataract surgery on a porcine eye.

Results : Of patients surveyed (n=100), 78% (n=78) recalled visual experiences during surgery, (65%, n=65) saw bright lights and flashes, 18% (n=18) saw instruments or other objects.

Of patients who recalled visual experiences (n=78), 47.4% (n=37) said that the video was the same or similar to what they experienced overall. Of patients who saw bright lights and flashes (n=65), 46.1% (n=30) said that the video was the same or similar. Of patients who saw objects (n=18), 72.2% (n=13) said that the video was the same or similar.

Thirty-six percent of patients surveyed (n=36) said that seeing the video before their procedures would have helped them relax, and 48% of patients (n=48) would recommend the video to future patients.

Conclusions : Reported visual experiences during surgery differ widely and a simulation video may be helpful in reducing anxiety in patients undergoing cataract surgery.

This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.