Perioperative Practice Patterns for Cataract Surgery - A Cross-Sectional European Study.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate pre- and postoperative visits following 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 European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (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 2,000 to 5,000 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 patient reviews was 5.7 (range: 3.3-9.3) for DSBCS and 3.0 (range: 2.3-4.0) 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, improve capacity, and may serve as a step towards more sustainable care by reducing travel-related carbon emissions.