Are Elderly Patients Optimally Corrected with Spectacles in the Longer Term after Cataract Surgery?

Our study suggests that patients would benefit from adjusting their distance spectacles several years after cataract surgery. This may lead to a better quality of life for these patients.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients' distance vision is optimally corrected with spectacles 6 to 7 years after cataract surgery and whether patients with glaucoma who regularly visit an ophthalmologist have more correct power in their spectacles.

A total of 153 patients (153 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery with phacoemulsification at Oslo University Hospital were examined 6 to 7 years after surgery. Patients with better or equal best-corrected distance visual acuity in the study eye compared with the other eye were included (n = 90; 59%). Vision-related outcomes were measured and analyzed, including a modified version of the visual function questionnaire, Visual Function-14 (VF-14).

A significant difference was found in the logMAR score between the patients' habitual correction (if any) and those with best-corrected distance visual acuity measured at the postoperative study examination (0.20 ± 0.40 and 0.10 ± 0.39, respectively; P < .0001). Patients with glaucoma (n = 17) did not have more correct power of their spectacles than did patients without glaucoma (n = 73; P = .38). The overall mean VF-14 score was 89%, with a statistically significant correlation between a high VF-14 score and a good habitual distance correction (r = -0.82; P < .0001).

This study indicates that, although the patients are quite satisfied with their visual function 6 to 7 years after cataract surgery, many patients are not making the most of their visual potential. Thus, there seems to be a need for better monitoring of patients' distance refraction and spectacle use for an extended period after cataract surgery.