Diffractive multifocal IOL may provide superior near acuity

J Cataract Refract Surg. 2011;37(5):842-852.

Multifocal IOLs with a diffractive component provided better reading acuity than refractive multifocal and monofocal lenses, a study found.

“Therefore, diffractive multifocal IOLs are an adequate option for cataract patients with very demanding near visual tasks,” the study authors said.

The multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study included 304 eyes of 152 patients. Mean patient age was 71.32 years.

Patients underwent phacoemulsification and received one of the following lenses: Acri.Smart 48S monofocal IOL (Carl Zeiss Meditec, 72 eyes); AcrySof ReSTOR SN6AD3 apodized multifocal IOL (Alcon, 78 eyes); Acri.Lisa 366D diffractive multifocal IOL (Zeiss, 84 eyes); or ReZoom refractive multifocal IOL (Abbott Medical Optics, 70 eyes).

Investigators used the Salzburg Reading Desk to evaluate bilateral reading performance with and without near correction. Patients also underwent evaluation of refraction, Snellen near and distance visual acuity with and without spherocylinder correction, corneal topography, anterior segment slit lamp evaluation, tonometry, and fundoscopy. Exams were conducted preoperatively and at 1 day, 1 month and 6 months postoperatively.

Postoperatively, all patients had statistically significant improvement in uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (P £ .01).

The apodized multifocal and diffractive multifocal IOL groups had significantly better uncorrected reading acuity than the monofocal and multifocal groups at 1 month and 6 months (P < .01).

Postoperative manifest cylinder was similar in all four groups and was attributed to the use of small corneal incisions to minimize postoperative astigmatism, the authors reported.