An investigation on the current patterns of using consumables and sterilizing accessories in phacoemulsification in China.

PURPOSE To survey the routine application of consumables and sterilized accessories of phacoemulsification in mainland China. METHODS This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A questionnaire link was sent to Chinese ophthalmologists via the most widely used social communication tool (WeChat platform). RESULTS A total of 815 questionnaires were determined to be valid and were included in the final analysis. The majority of respondents were from Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hebei, and Henan provinces. A number of hospitals (48.22%) reused the fluidics management system (FMS) after sterilization. Among the hospitals using disposable FMS, 38.03% reused tubing after sterilization. Most respondents' hospitals (70.43%) sterilized the handpiece for each operation. Only 38.77% of the respondents' hospitals adopted irrigation fluid antibiotics and/or intracameral antibiotics intraoperatively. Greater single usage of FMS was significantly associated with higher provincial gross domestic product (GDP), government hospitals, provincial hospitals, and disposable tubing (P < 0.05). The adoption of irrigation fluid/intracameral antibiotics was correlated with the financial type of the hospital, the daily volume of phacoemulsification, and the usage of silicone tubing (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results show a wide variation in the application of consumables and the sterilization of accessories in phacoemulsification in mainland China. Only half of the hospitals adopted interfusion/intracameral antibiotic prophylaxis, despite its efficacy having been confirmed. These data revealed potential safety issues of the sterilization of phacoemulsification instruments and the risk of intraocular infection.