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Study: Pseudophakic dysphotopsia impedes function
WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Researchers have found a correlation between pseudophakic dysphotopsia and impeded function, suggesting that the unwanted images are more than just an annoyance, according to a speaker here.
Of 2,953 pseudophakic candidates considered for a visual quality study, only 70 met the criteria of having uncomplicated surgery, 20/20 results and no obvious ocular disease — no dry eye, no posterior capsule opacification (PCO), no blepharitis and no ocular complaint.
Randall J. Olson
“This was as clean a cohort as ever developed in ophthalmology,” Randall J. Olson, MD, OSN Cataract Surgery Board Member, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013. “We took these [patients], who should be overwhelmingly satisfied, functional and happy patients, and put them through a whole battery of tests.”
In a study that correlated overall satisfaction and elements of surgical outcome, such as best corrected visual acuity and PCO, using the NEI VFQ and other tools, Olson and colleagues found that the only strong correlation in this group of uncomplicated patients was dysphotopsia.
“Interestingly, the dysphotopsia score also correlated with the function score,” he said. “For the first time, we showed these unwanted images actually impacted the patient’s function.”
Glare, light sensitivity and light flashes are issues that happen from IOLs , he said, and are not part of the IOL experience.
“The major dissatisfier we have is unwanted images. They have a very real functional handicap,” Olson said.
Disclosure: Olson has no relevant financial disclosures.