Influence of Biometric Variables on Refractive Outcomes after Cataract Surgery in Angle-closure Glaucoma Patients

To evaluate the influence of biometric variables on refractive outcomes after cataract surgery in angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) patients.

In this case-control study, 42 ACG patients, 40 open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients, and 35 controls without glaucoma who had undergone conventional cataract surgery were enrolled consecutively. Electronic medical records, including preoperative biometric variables (keratometric diopter, axial length, anterior chamber depth, and lens thickness), the refractive change (RC), and the absolute value of refractive change (ARC) were reviewed.

In the control and OAG patients, the anterior chamber depth was negatively correlated with the ARC (r = -0.344, p = 0.043 and r = -0.431, p = 0.006, respectively), whereas there was no correlation in the ACG patients. Lens thickness was positively correlated with the RC, but not with the ARC, in the control and OAG groups (r = 0.391, p = 0.020 and r = 0.501, p = 0.001, respectively). In contrast, lens thickness in the ACG group was not correlated with the RC but was positively correlated with the ARC (r = 0.331, p = 0.032).

In contrast with the anterior chamber depth, preoperatively measured lens thickness may be a useful predictor of the direction of the RC after cataract surgery in control and OAG patients. However, in ACG patients, a thicker lens was correlated with a larger RC, regardless of the direction of the shift (hyperopic or myopic).