ISBCS rates rose during pandemic but varied by region, race
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CHICAGO — The rate of immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery among people aged 65 years or older increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a poster presented here.
“ISBCS rates increased significantly during this period, possibly due to COVID-related precautions and restrictions,” Muhammad Ali, MBBS, said at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.
Source: Adobe Stock.
Ali and colleagues collected immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) data from 100% Medicare fee-for-service claims from July 2018 to September 2019 for the pre-pandemic group and from July 2020 to September 2021 for the during pandemic group.
Across the 620,868 bilateral cataract surgeries performed during the entire study period, 1,874 cases of ISBCS were performed.
Even though the overall rate of ISBCS is low, there was a statistically significant increase in quarterly ISBCS rates, from 0.24% to 0.42%.
The rates of ISBCS during the pandemic varied by region and race. While rates increased in the West, Midwest and South, they did not in the Northeast. In terms of race, white patients had the largest increase in ISBCS rate, while rates for Black and North American Native patients did not increase during the pandemic.
Ali and colleagues believe further research on ISBCS is necessary.
“Longitudinal monitoring of ISBCS rates is needed to see if the upward trend continues,” Ali said. “Future studies will look at the rates of ISBCS among patients younger than 65 years as well.”
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Ali M, et al. Trends in immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery before and during COVID-19. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2022; Chicago.
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