A 7-Year Study Of Cataract Surgery In A Tertiary Referral Hospital: Long-Term Visual Outcomes And Complications

To report the outcomes of cataract surgery in a tertiary university hospital, including the visual outcomes and the complications and to compare them to the WHO recommendation for post-op visual acuity and the EUREQUO audit database.

Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. 

Retrospective, chart review study of cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation. The following data was reported for all cataract surgery cases during a 7-year period (August 2015-March 2022) using the EUREQUO digital database: age of patients, preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), co-existing eye disease, type of anesthesia, surgical technique, intraoperative complications, post-operative BCVA.

A total of 2172 eyes were included in the audit. The median age of surgery was 72 years. Preoperatively, 1562 (72%) eyes had best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) less or equal to 6/12 and 610 eyes (28%) more than 6/12. Postoperatively, 86% had BCVA equal or better to 6/12 and 14% less than that. The overall complication rate was 4%; 1.7% was due to posterior capsular tear without vitreous loss, 0.55% due to vitreous loss, 0.09% due to dropped nucleus, 0.09% due to iris damage, 0.28% due to anterior capsular tear and 1.29% due to other causes. No cases of endophthalmitis were documented. 

Our results were in accordance to the WHO recommendations and inferior to the EUREQUO database. We hope that by implementing certain changes, such as a better preoperative assessment, we will improve our final outcomes. Moreover, we aim to encourage more Greek hospitals to document and track their performance and set new standards for the outcomes of cataract surgery.