No need to postpone refractive surgery for patients who fast during Ramadan
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Pre-refractive surgery measurements, including refraction, keratometry, wavefront, pachymetry, axial length and other parameters, are not altered by religious fasting, according to a study performed at the University of Kayseri, Turkey.
“There is no need to postpone surgery for candidates who fast during the month of Ramadan,” Soner Guven, MD, said at the virtual European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons winter meeting.
Approximately a quarter of the world population intentionally does not eat or drink between dawn and sunset during the month of Ramadan. The time of Ramadan changes due to the lunar calendar, and fasting can last up to 17 hours during summer days.
“Our aim was to find out if hunger and dehydration in this period could potentially alter refractive measures,” Guven said.
Thirty eyes of 30 healthy volunteers (19 male and 11 female) were analyzed. The mean age was 35.4 years. Spherical equivalent, keratometry and wavefront aberrations were scanned by the iDesign Advanced WaveScan Studio system (Abbott/Johnson & Johnson Vision). Effective blur, high-order aberrations, polar Zernike coefficients at 4 mm and root mean square errors were also analyzed. Thinnest pachymetry, corneal volume and anterior chamber volume were evaluated by Pentacam HR (Oculus). The IOLMaster 500 (Carl Zeiss Meditec) was used to measure the axial length.
All measurements were performed at 4 p.m. during Ramadan fasting and 1 month later when normal drinking and eating habits were reestablished.
“No significant differences could be found in any analyzed measurements between fasting and non-fasting periods. Comparison of ocular biometry, corneal topography and surface characteristics of participants between fasting and non-fasting periods showed no significant difference for all parameters. Refractive measures did not change, and the polar Zernike coefficients were comparable,” Guven said.
“To our best knowledge, this is the first report presenting the effect of religious fasting on refractive measures by wavefront aberrometer,” he said.
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Guven S. Are refractive measures dependable in religious fasting period in refractive surgery candidates? Presented at: European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons winter meeting; Feb. 19-21, 2021 (virtual meeting).
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