ARM makes little difference to cataract surgery outcomes

Patients with age-related maculopathy (ARM) undergoing cataract surgery can expect favourable visual and quality of life outcomes one to three years following surgery, according to the results of a study published in the March issue of Eye.

Jie Jin Wang and colleagues from the University of Sydney and the Westmead Hospital, New South Wales, Australia re-examined patients with and without ARM who had undergone cataract surgery between 2001 and 2003. They tested visual acuity (VA) and assessed visual and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using standardized questionnaires (VF-14, SF-12). Preoperative co-morbidity data was collected from medical records. Poor surgical outcomes (VA< 6/12; no improvement in VA; lowest quintile of VF-14, SF-12 scores) were compared in subjects with and without ARM.

A total of 454 patients were followed up for a mean period of 2.8 years. Similar numbers of patients in the ARM and non-ARM groups had VA< 6/12, equating to 80.2% and 88.8%, respectively. Preoperative early ARM was associated with a slightly lower mean VF-14 score. Increasing age and preoperative ocular co-morbidities were associated with all poor outcomes measured.

The results of this study suggest that patients with ARM who have undergone cataract surgery can expect reasonable outcomes over three years.