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Ukrainian study shows benefits of pediatric cataract surgery
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Both bilateral and unilateral cataract surgery can improve uncorrected vision in pediatric patients in the Ukraine, a study found.
Pia Agervi, MD, and colleagues of St. Erik's Eye Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, evaluated the results of cataract surgery performed on 65 Ukrainian children ages 3 to 15 years old. Forty-four children had bilateral cataracts, and 21 children had unilateral cataract. In no cases were occlusion therapy or spectacles prescribed postoperatively, according to the study.
At 2 years' follow-up, 96% of children achieved a statistically significant gain in visual acuity (P < .05). Among bilateral cataract patients, 40% achieved a corrected visual acuity of 0.5 or better. Astigmatism also significantly reduced from a mean 3.9 D preoperatively to 0.6 D postoperatively (P < .001).
Of unilateral cataract patients, 44% achieved a corrected visual acuity of 0.2 or better, and mean astigmatism significantly reduced from 4.2 D preoperatively to 0.4 D at 2 years (P < .001), according to the study.
The study is published in the October issue of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica.