Patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) who underwent cataract surgery saw improvements in their best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after the procedure, reports a retrospective, noncomparative clinical study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.1
Specifically, post-surgery, BCVA improved from 1.03 to 0.81 logMAR (i.e., 20/214 to 20/129 Snellen) in the first eye treated (-0.22 logMAR; 95% CI = -0.31 to -0.13; P < .001) and from 0.80 to 0.56 logMAR (i.e., 20/126 to 20/73 Snellen) in the second eye treated. (-0.24 logMAR; 95% CI = -0.32 to -0.15; P < .001). Additionally, obvious BCVA improvements (postoperative change in BCVA of ≥0.3 logMAR) were seen in 39% of patients, and greater odds for obvious improvements in vision were noted in patients who had moderate or worse visual impairment.
The study was comprised of 295 eyes of 225 patients, and the mean age at surgery of the first eye was 56.1 ± 17.9 years. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data of RP patients undergoing the procedure was amassed from many expertise centers across Europe, according to the study. CP
1. Nguyen XTA, Thiadens AJ, Fiocco M, et al. Outcome of Cataract Surgery in Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa. Am J Ophthalmol. 2022 Oct 15;246:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2022.10.001. Online ahead of print.