Virtual follow-up after cataract surgery: systematic review

To examine the association between virtual postoperative follow-up care and patient outcomes after cataract surgery.

Cataract surgery is a safe and commonly performed surgery. Follow-up visits are used to monitor for complications. It is uncertain whether virtual follow-up provides a safe alternative to in-person review.

MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL were searched from inception to October 2023 for relevant articles containing original data. Studies that (1) included patients who were seen in a virtual follow-up (ie, telephone or video call) for postoperative appointments after cataract surgery and (2) reported patient outcomes were included. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa and RoB2 assessment tools. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize findings. The review was registered in PROSPERO (registration number, CRD42023477207), and PRISMA guidelines were followed.

The search yielded 1710 records with 7 studies included in this review. The 7 studies reported on 2113 cataract surgeries in 1994 patients. The studies ranged between 2004 and 2020. Most of the studies (5/7) included only patients with uneventful cataract surgery. Virtual follow-ups were all conducted by telephone. The follow-up calls were made at varying timepoints including postoperative day 1 (n = 3), day 7 (n = 2), and day 14 (n = 1). 2 observational studies directly compared patients who had a telephone follow-up with a control group who had an in-person follow-up. There were no significant differences in complication rates ( P = .22) or visual acuity ( P = .28) between these follow-up groups. None of the studies reported serious adverse outcomes from replacing in-person follow-up with telephone follow-up. One study used virtual follow-up in conjunction with in-person visits for elderly patients and found that additional telephone follow-up was associated with decreased surgical recovery time and decreased patient anxiety. 3 studies reported on patient perceptions about telephone follow-up. A common theme was that patients preferred telephone reviews and found them to be more convenient than in-person follow-up.

For patients with uneventful cataract surgery, virtual follow-ups seem to be a safe alternative to in-person visits and were preferred by patients. These conclusions are preliminary given the limited literature base, and further study is needed.