Regional comparison of preoperative biometry for cataract surgery between two domestic institutions

Regional variations of the preoperative biometry can affect the refractive accuracy of cataract surgery. We aimed to compare the preoperative biometric data for cataract surgery between two domestic institutions.

We retrospectively reviewed the preoperative biometric data of 673 consecutive eyes undergoing standard cataract surgery at Miyata Eye Hospital (Miyazaki; M group) and Kitasato University Hospital (Kanagawa; K group), and compared these data between the two groups.

We found significant differences in the mean keratometric readings (44.39 ± 1.56 D vs. 44.09 ± 1.74 D) (unpaired t test, p = 0.034), the anterior chamber depth (3.14 ± 0.43 mm vs. 3.46 ± 0.62 mm) (p < 0.001), the axial length (23.98 ± 1.62 mm vs. 24.59 ± 1.82 mm) (p < 0.001), and the lens thickness (4.64 ± 0.48 mm vs. 4.37 ± 0.62 mm) (p < 0.001), in the M and K groups, respectively. Otherwise, we found no significant differences in corneal astigmatism (p = 0.104), or central corneal thickness (p = 0.480) between the two groups. For subgroup analysis, the prediction error (0.06 ± 0.47 D) in the M group was significantly more hyperopic than that (- 0.09 ± 0.54 D) in the K group (p = 0.006).

There were significant differences in the mean keratometric readings, the anterior chamber depth, the axial length, and the lens thickness, by approximately 0.3 D, 0.3 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.3 mm, respectively. Regional variations of the preoperative biometry did exist to some extent, and were not clinically negligible, in consideration of the precise IOL power calculation and the subsequent refractive accuracy of cataract surgery.

University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry (000037994).