Methods for evaluating quality of life and vision in patients undergoing lens refractive surgery

Cataract surgery has evolved into a procedure that generally yields the best postoperative refractive result attainable. Patients with multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) present higher rates of spectacle independence, although reduced intermediate vision, dysphotopsias, and a loss of image quality might also be experienced. The aim of the study was to review the methods for assessing quality of life and vision in patients undergoing lens refractive surgery in randomized controlled trials.

We reviewed the PubMed web platform to identify relevant studies using the following keywords: quality of life, quality of vision, lens surgery, lens exchange, refractive lens exchange, cataract, cataract surgery, intraocular lens, IOL, multifocal, and monovision.

An increasing number of studies have focused on patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Only a few of the available visual function questionnaires can be regarded as useful in lens refractive surgery with multifocal IOL implantation. Many self-developed questionnaires have emerged that have not been adequately validated or found to feature properly evaluated repeatability, hampering the possibility of comparing outcomes.

This review describes the existing PROs instruments and informs the choice of an appropriate measure in lens refractive surgery. Rasch-developed tools should be utilized for measuring quality of life and vision in patients undergoing lens refractive surgery and there is a number of highly robust tools available.