Preop DED often undiagnosed or treated in cataract surgery cases

A noninterventional, retrospective study of cataract patients in American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS® Registry found that 30% of the study population were diagnosed with preoperative dry eye disease (DED) and only 3% of those received DED treatment within 3 months of surgery, according to data presented at 2020 AAO Virtual.

Sixty-six percent of those treated received a premium or advanced technology intraocular lens (AT-IOLs), with patients having 2.1 greater odds of receiving DED treatment when given an AT-IOL.

For the study, the researchers used the IRIS Registry to determine prevalence of preoperative DED diagnosis and treatment in the United States, and the association between treatment and receiving AT-IOL. For the study of cataract patients between January 2016 and March 2018, the DED diagnoses were identified by ICD-9/ICD-10 codes. Treatments included procedures, such as eyelid heat therapy, punctal plugs, and amniotic membrane, or medications, such as cyclosporine A or lifitegrast, within 12 weeks preoperatively. The majority of eyes treated (86.3%) used topical immunomodulators, while the most common coded procedure was closure of the lacrimal punctum with a plug (10.2%).

Results showed that 26,543 cataract patients (29.5%) were diagnosed with DED and 3.0% of those diagnosed received treatment. Eyes with monofocal IOLS had the lowest percentage of DED-treated eyes (<2.0%). Nearly two-thirds of eyes treated for DED received premium IOLS and eyes receiving extended depth of focus (EDOF) IOLs had the highest percentage (~5%) of DED-treated eyes.

Reference
Starr CS, et al. Prevalence of prospective dry eye diagnosis and treatment among cataract patients: An AAO IRIS Registry analysis. Presented at: AAO 2020 Virtual [Session: PO105].