Refractive Errors After Cataract Surgery: Frequencies And Associated Factors

to describe refractive errors after cataract surgery and identify the associated factors.

Department of Ophthalmology, Habib Thameur Hospital, Tunis, Tunisia.

The study included patients who underwent cataract surgery by phacoemulsification with the implantation of a monofocal foldable intraocular lens. All patients underwent a comprehensive ophthalmological examination preoperatively and postoperatively. Non-contact optical biometry was performed on all patients using the AL-SCAN optical biometer (NIDEK). The SRK/T intraocular lens calculation formula was used for all axial lengths. We calculated the mean absolute error (MAE) and explored correlations between various clinical, biometric, and preoperative and postoperative factors with refractive error.

456 eyes of 401 patients who underwent cataract surgery by phacoemulsification were analyzed.The mean absolute error (MAE) was 0.65 ± 0.58 [0-4.65], with the highest mean observed in the extreme axial lengths. In 51.3% of cases, the MAE was between 0 and 0.5 D, in 27.9% of cases between 0.5 and 1 D, and in 20.8% it was greater than 1D. In univariate study, the factors significantly influencing postoperative refractive error were preoperative astigmatism (p=0.008), axial length (p<10 -3 ), implant power (p=0.002), corneal point (p=0.022), and postoperative astigmatism (p=0.012).

Optical biometers and current implants offer remarkable precision. However, postoperative refractive errors still exist. In this study, the error was associated with preoperative corneal astigmatism, axial length measurement, implant power, corneal sutures, and postoperative astigmatism.