Visual Outcomes of Cataract Surgery in the United States, Canada, Denmark, and Spain

Abstract

Objective To compare visual outcomes obtained following cataract surgery in 4 sites in North America and Europe where considerable differences in the organization of care and patterns of clinical practice have been previously described. Methods Patients scheduled for first eye-cataract surgery and aged 50 years or older were enrolled consecutively in a prospective multicenter study that collected clinical and patient interview data preoperatively and postoperatively. From the United States, 772 patients were enrolled; from the Province of Manitoba (Canada), 159; from Denmark, 291; and from the City of Barcelona (Spain), 200. Preoperative and 4-month postoperative visual acuity was obtained for 92% of the patients (n=1291). Results The mean 4-month postoperative visual acuity of eyes operated on varied significantly across the 4 sites ( P Conclusion A previously identified variation in treatment modalities across the 4 sites did not seem to affect patients' visual acuity outcomes.