Risk Factors Associated with Unexpected Refractive Outcomes in Uveitic Cataract Surgery

ABSTRACT

Objective

Assess refractive outcomes following uveitic cataract surgery and identify factors associated with deviations from the target refractive goal.

Methods

A multicenter retrospective chart review was performed for 216 subjects with uveitis undergoing cataract surgery. Prediction error was calculated and tested for association with demographic and clinical characteristics using single variable and multiple regression analysis.

Results

39.8% of eyes deviated from the intended refractive target by at least 0.5 diopters (D). The mean prediction error was 0.56 ± 0.67 D. Younger age (p = 0.042), preoperative inflammatory corneal findings (keratic precipitates and/or band keratopathy) (p = 0.0004), and poorer postoperative visual acuity (p = 0.0054) were associated with a deviation from the intended refractive target by at least 1 D.

Conclusions

A higher percentage of eyes undergoing uveitic cataract surgery deviated from the intended refractive target when compared to reported refractive outcomes in normal subjects. Younger age, preoperative inflammatory corneal sequelae, and poorer postoperative visual acuity were associated with this outcome.

KEYWORDS:

• Cataract surgery
• prediction error
• refractive outcomes
• uveitic
• uveitis

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Lori Jansen (Oregon Health & Science University) and Sarah Simmons (Oregon Health & Science University) for their assistance with performing our clinical database query.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09273948.2023.2187847.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Unrestricted Grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. to the Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute and the University of Wisconsin—Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. This work was also supported in part by the Core Grant for Vision Research from the NIH to the University of Wisconsin—Madison (P30EY016665) as well as by NIH/NEI core grant (P30EY010572).