Outcomes of Visual Acuity after Paediatric Cataract Surgery at Medical College in Jhansi, (U.P)

Background: Childhood blindness is one of the priority eye diseases within the disease controls strategy of the “VISION 2020”initiative. Aim: To evaluate postoperative visual status for distance and near after paediatric cataract surgery. Materials and Methods: It is a hospital based retrospective and prospective medical record retrieval type of cohort study. A review of paediatric cataract cases operated between September 2014 to August 2015 in department of ophthalmology at medical college, Jhansi (U.P) was done. The demographic data, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative details were noted. The surgical procedure included cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation with primary posterior capsulorrhexis and anterior vitrectomy in most of the cases. The visual status of eyes was evaluated before and 6 weeks after surgery. Statistical Analysis: Univariate and multivariate type of statistical analysis using Epi-info software. Chi square test was used to calculate the change in visual acuity before and after surgery and p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 70 eyes of 50 children were included in the study. Twenty children had bilateral, and 30 children had unilateral cataract. Most common were congenital cataracts seen in 28 eyes (40%). Distant vision following surgery was more than 6/60 in 44 eyes (62.85%). Conclusion: For the key to good visual outcomes early detection and management of cataract in children is of prime importance. Special emphasis on near vision postoperatively care should be included.