Demographic and clinical co-relations with outcomes of management of age-related cataract at a tertiary eye care centre in Western India

• Author Details:   
• Garima Agrawa ^*
• Monika Prajapati

---

Background: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in India and globally. Modern day cataract surgeries promise great visual outcomes and early rehabilitation to the patients. A prospective, longitudinal, institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted to analyse the visual outcomes and surgically induced astigmatism after phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgeries. The impact of age, gender and rural/urban residence too was explored on the final visual outcome.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the visual outcome and surgically induced astigmatism after phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgery for age related cataract. The corelation of age, gender and geographic area of residence with the final visual outcome was also studied.

Materials and Methods: The study site was our regional institute of Ophthalmology in western India. The study period was one year from September 2021 to September 2022. The study included 204 eyes of 204 patients with visually significant cataract who were between 45 to 80 years of age and did not have complicated cataract or systemic and ocular co-morbidities. A thorough history taking and clinical examination were done. Patients were randomized to undergo cataract extraction via Phacoemulsification (PE) /Manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) along with intraocular lens implantation. 102 cases underwent PE and 102 patients were operated by MSICS. The postoperative visual outcomes were documented. The patients were followed up for six weeks.

Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software version 29. A p value of less than 0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: There was no significant difference in the six-week postoperative BCVA between the phacoemulsification and MSICS groups. The phacoemulsification group had a significantly lesser surgically induced astigmatism and a better uncorrected visual acuity UCVA (p<0>

Conclusion: Phacoemulsification and MSICS both give good visual outcomes after cataract surgery. Phacoemulsification may have an edge over MSICS in inducing less astigmatism and greater uncorrected visual acuity postoperatively. Increasing age and female gender appear to be linked to a lower postoperative BCVA.

Keywords: Age related cataract, Visual outcome, Demographic and clinical correlation.