PMID- 11320024
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20010510
LR  - 20190726
IS  - 0161-6420 (Print)
IS  - 0161-6420 (Linking)
VI  - 108
IP  - 5
DP  - 2001 May
TI  - The early complications of cataract surgery: is routine review of patients 1 week 
      after cataract extraction necessary?
PG  - 930-5
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study sought to define the nature and frequency of complications 
      present 1 week after cataract surgery, to determine whether these complications 
      are predictable, and to ascertain if patients undergoing cataract surgery require 
      routine review at this time. DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative case series. 
      PARTICIPANTS: One thousand consecutive patients undergoing cataract removal by 
      either phacoemulsification or extracapsular extraction at a large teaching 
      hospital between January 1996 and May 1998. Patients with both complicated and 
      uncomplicated histories and surgeries were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 
      Nature and frequency of complications present 1 week after cataract surgery. 
      RESULTS: At the routine 1-week visit, postoperative complications were observed 
      in 41 of 1000 patients (4.1%). Twenty-one (51%) of these patients had a 
      completely unremarkable history to that point, and whereas only four (19%) were 
      symptomatic, 20 (95%) required a change to their postoperative management. The 
      most significant unexpected complications were uveitis (seven cases), cystoid 
      macular edema (four cases), and vitreous to the wound, exposed knots, and loose 
      suture (one case of each). Complications were present in 20 of 257 (7.8%) 
      patients with a preoperative or surgical risk factor, and there was a significant 
      relationship between preoperative (P = 0.02), and combined preoperative and 
      intraoperative risk factors (P = 0.001), and complications present at the 1-week 
      review. The relationship between surgical risk factors and 1-week complications 
      was not significant (P = 0.07). There were coexistent pathologic features in 19% 
      of all eyes. Registrars performed 38% of surgeries, and 96% of cataracts were 
      removed by phacoemulsification. Operative complications occurred in 6.7% of 
      patients, most commonly a posterior capsule tear (4.4% of all cases). 
      Complications were observed in 10% of eyes on the first postoperative day. Raised 
      intraocular pressure was the complication in 88% of these patients. CONCLUSIONS: 
      This study provides an overview of modern cataract surgery in a large teaching 
      hospital and indicates that abandonment of routine 1-week review may result in 
      the failure to detect significant postoperative complications.
FAU - McKellar, M J
AU  - McKellar MJ
AD  - Department of Ophthalmology, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand.
FAU - Elder, M J
AU  - Elder MJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Ophthalmology
JT  - Ophthalmology
JID - 7802443
SB  - IM
MH  - Eye Diseases/diagnosis/epidemiology/*etiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Hospitals, Teaching/statistics & numerical data
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - New Zealand/epidemiology
MH  - Patient Care
MH  - Phacoemulsification/*adverse effects
MH  - *Postoperative Complications/diagnosis/epidemiology
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - Time Factors
EDAT- 2001/04/26 10:00
MHDA- 2001/05/22 10:01
CRDT- 2001/04/26 10:00
PHST- 2001/04/26 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2001/05/22 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2001/04/26 10:00 [entrez]
AID - S0161-6420(00)00431-0 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/s0161-6420(00)00431-0 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ophthalmology. 2001 May;108(5):930-5. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(00)00431-0.