Cataract Surgical Outcome and Predictors of Outcome in Lumbini Zone and Chitwan District of Nepal

Purpose: To evaluate visual acuity outcome from cataract surgery based on a population-based survey among people aged 50 years and older in Lumbini Zone and Chitwan District of Nepal.Methods: A randomly selected, population-based cross sectional epidemiological study of blindness, visual impairment and cataract surgical outcome was conducted. All subjects underwent a comprehensive ocular examination by an ophthalmic assistant, while people with visual impairment (visual acuity less than 6/18) after refraction and all cataract surgical cases underwent dilated fundus examination by an ophthalmologist.Results: 5,916 people were enumerated and 5,141 (86.9%) examined. Among the 359 people who had cataract surgery, 485 eyes were included in the study. First eye surgery was before 2000 in 84 (23%), between 2000 and 2003 in 130 (36%), and after 2003 in 145 (41%). A presenting visual acuity ≥ 6/18 was achieved in 298 (61.4%) eyes (10 [17.8%] and 288 [67.1%] of aphakic and pseudophakic eyes, respectively) and best ...