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LASIK outcomes not significantly affected by seasonality
No clinically relevant association was found between seasonality and LASIK outcomes, demonstrating the standardized reliability of the procedure, according to researchers.
A retrospective, cross-sectional data analysis included 1,052 eyes of 1,052 patients, among whom 373 patients had surgery during the meteorological summer and 679 patients had surgery during the meteorological winter.
Mean preoperative refractive spherical equivalent was −3.81 D in the summer group and −3.92 D in the winter group. Mean follow-up was 33 days.
At 1-month follow-up, mean postoperative refractive spherical equivalent was −0.16 D in the summer group and −0.19 D in the winter group.
A lower efficacy was seen in the winter group, according to the researchers, with an efficacy index 0.023 higher in the summer group than in the winter group (P = .032). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups’ safety index or postoperative spherical equivalent. None of the eyes had a change of more than one line on the logMAR scale, the researchers found.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.