Immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery may lead to worse outcomes

Compared with delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery (DSBCS), worse visual outcomes were found in patients who underwent immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS), according to a study.

In this retrospective cohort study utilizing data from the IRIS Registry, 1,824,196 patients undergoing bilateral cataract surgery were grouped according to ISBCS, short-interval (1-14 days delay) DSBCS (DSBCS-14), and long-interval (15-90 days) DSBCS (DSBCS-90) procedures.

In the DSBCS-14 group, the UCVA and BCVA of the first surgical eye was higher by 0.41 and 0.89 letters, respectively, compared with the DSBCS-90 group. For the second eye, the UCVA and BCVA was higher by 0.79 and by 0.48 letters, respectively.

In the ISBCS group, UCVA and BCVA was lower by 2.79 and 1.64 letters, compared with the DSBCS-90 group. For the second eye, the UCVA and BCVA was lower by −1.67 and by −1.88 letters, respectively.

The authors noted that more studies are needed to determine the clinical relevance of the results of this study.

Reference
Owen JP, Blazes M, Lacy M, et al. Refractive outcomes after immediate sequential vs delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.2032