Perioperative practice patterns for cataract surgery: a cross-sectional European study
Denise Yang-Seeger1, Yan Ning Neo, Oliver Findl
1Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany (Yang-Seeger, Birtel); Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom (Neo, Bagchi); Whipps Cross University Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom (Neo); Vienna Institute for Research in Ocular Surgery, a Karl Landsteiner Institute, Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria (Findl); Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom (Bagchi); Flevoziekenhuis, Almere, the Netherlands (Elferink); Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany (Birtel).
Purpose:
To investigate pre- and postoperative visits after cataract surgery in Europe and to assess the environmental impact of patient travel.
Setting:
High-volume cataract centers in 16 European countries.
Design:
A cross-sectional survey was developed and distributed by the Young Ophthalmologists for Sustainability (YOFS), a working group of the ESCRS.
Methods:
Outcome measures included pre- and postoperative clinic visits, time and location of follow-ups, proportion of delayed and immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (DSBCS and ISBCS), and the option of remote follow-up visits.
Results:
In total, 89 responses were collected. Most departments performed 2000 to 5000 cataract surgeries per year. If ISBCS was offered, this accounted for less than 5% in most units. The number of preoperative visits varied between 1 (78%) and ≥3 (4%), with half of the units undertaking preoperative visits before the second-eye surgery. The number of postoperative visits ranged from 1 to 4; most centers performed 1 (35%) or 2 (45%). In total, the mean number of patient reviews was 5.7 (range, 3.3 to 9.3) for DSBCS and 3.0 (range, 2.3 to 4.0) for ISBCS. Remote follow-up visits were only offered by 6 centers.
Conclusions:
Large regional differences regarding the frequency of pre- and postoperative visits for cataract surgery were observed. Reducing the number of face-to-face visits may reduce costs for healthcare systems and patients, improve patient convenience, capacity, and may serve as a step toward more sustainable care by reducing travel-related carbon emissions.
