DESIGN: Population-based incidence study using data from a medical savings fund.
STUDY POPULATION: Chinese, Malay, and Indian residents in Singapore.
METHODS: Data on all cataract operations performed for "senile cataract" (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code 366.1) between 1991 and 1996 were retrieved from Medisave, a population-wide, government-administered medical savings fund. The Singapore census was used as a denominator to allow an estimation of age, sex, and race-specific annual rates of cataract surgery.
RESULTS: Between 1991 and 1996, 61 210 cataract operations for "senile cataract" were performed on Singapore residents, which is equivalent to an average rate of 356.4 cataract operations per 100 000 persons per year (95% confidence interval [CI], 353.6-359.2). The average rate was highest for Indians (age-sex adjusted rate of 396.5 per 100 000/year), followed by Chinese (371.2 per 100 000/year), and lowest for Malays (237.2 per 100 000/year). Women had higher rates of cataract extraction than men (age-adjusted relative risk, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.11-1.17), with this pattern consistent across the 3 racial groups. The rate of cataract extraction increased by an average of 40 operations per 100 000/year (95% CI, 28.6-52.8) between 1991 and 1996. Overall, the proportion of cataract extraction without concurrent intraocular lens implantation was low (n = 762, 1.2%), but rates still decreased by an average of 0.8 per 100 000 per year (95% CI, 0.03-1.5) during the 6 years.
CONCLUSIONS: The rate of cataract extraction in Singapore is consistent with rates seen in developed countries in the West. Racial variation in rates suggests varying predisposition to cataract development and/or threshold for cataract surgery between Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations in Singapore.
METHODS: Patient demography, pre-operative visual acuity, intra-operative complications, post-operative complications and post-operative visual acuity were recorded for two hundred and forty seven of the 400 patients who underwent cataract surgery during a 2-week period. The cost of surgery, which included capital, staff and overhead, and patient care consumable costs were assessed prospectively in 8 randomly sampled patients over a 3-month period. Cost efficiency refers to cost per cataract surgery. Cost effectiveness refers to cost per successful cataract surgery. This is estimated by the ratio of cost efficiency to the proportion of successful cataract surgery. Successful surgery was defined as best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of better than 6/12 at 3 months post-operatively.
RESULTS: Proportion of patients who had post-operative visual acuity of 6/12 or better was higher in phacoemulsification group (94%) than in the ECCE group (81%). Conventional extracapsular cataract surgery with intraocular lens implant costs RM3442 (USD 905.79) and phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implant costs RM4288 (USD 1128.42).
DISCUSSION: There was no significant difference in cost effectiveness between ECCE and phacoemulsification. The cost of cataract surgery in the MOH hospital was found to be high due to the high overhead costs.
SETTING: Departments of Ophthalmology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind study performed at two centers, 51 patients received an HSM PMMA lens and 48, an unmodified PMMA IOL. Cell and pigment deposits were evaluated by slitlamp at 1 to 6 days, 2 to 3 weeks, and 3 to 6 months postoperatively.
RESULTS: Significantly more eyes with unmodified IOLs had inflammatory cell deposits than those with HSM IOLs at 3 to 6 months (P < .001) and 12 to 14 months (P = .018) postoperatively. The HSM group also had significantly fewer cell deposits per patient at these two follow-ups. Significantly more eyes in the non-HSM group had pigment deposits 3 to 6 months after surgery (P = .049). One year postoperatively, about 85% of patients in both groups had a best corrected visual acuity of 0.5 or better.
CONCLUSION: Heparin surface modification significantly reduced the inflammatory response to PMMA IOLs in an Asian population for at least 12 to 14 months.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included data of 1,632 cataract surgeries performed from 2007 to 2010 which was obtained from the cataract registry of the Malaysian National Eye Database. Demographic features, ocular and systemic comorbidites, grade of surgeon expertise and duration of surgery, type of anesthesia, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and the type of intraocular lens were recorded. Best corrected visual acuities were compared before and after the operation.
RESULTS: Mean patient age was 66.9 years with equal gender distribution. The majority of subjects had age related cataracts. Phacoemulsification was done faster than other surgeries, especially by specialist surgeons. History of prior ocular surgery and operations performed under general anesthesia were associated with greater complications. Phacoemulsification was associated with less complications and better visual outcomes. The age and etiology of cataract did not affect complications. Malays, absence of ocular comorbidities, left eyes and eyes operated under local anesthesia were more likely to experience more visual improvement. Gender, age, cause of cataract, systemic comorbidities and surgeon expertise as well as intra-and postoperative complications did not affect the visual outcomes.
CONCLUSION: Phacoemulsification had good visual outcomes in cataract surgery. Duration of surgery, expertise of the surgeon and complications did not affect the visual outcomes.
SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Penang General Hospital, Georgetown Penang, Malaysia.
DESIGN: Prospective comparative case series.
METHOD: Patients with immature cataract were randomized to the topical mydriatic group (topical group) or intracameral mydriatic group (intracameral group). Patients with small pupils and complicated cataracts were excluded. Pupil diameter changes were measured throughout the surgery. Additional pupil dilation maneuvers and complications were recorded.
RESULTS: The study comprised 112 patients. There was no difference in mean pupil dilation between the intracameral group (4.86 mm ± 0.74 [SD]) and the topical group (4.88 ± 0.91 mm) (P = .86). However, the mean pupil size before capsulorhexis in the topical group (7.23 ± 1.08 mm) was significantly larger than in the intracameral group (6.40 ± 0.80 mm) (P = .01). The pupils in the intracameral group continued to dilate during surgery (0.44 ± 0.62 mm), while those in the topical group constricted (-0.41 ± 1.04 mm) (P cataract surgery. However, in the early stages of surgery, pupil dilation was slower than with topical agents.