EUREQUO finds cataract severity and patient age

2020 2021

Applications are open for the Peter Barry Fellowship 2021. This Fellowship commemorates the immense contribution made by the late Peter Barry to ophthalmology and to the ESCRS.

The Fellowship of €60,000 is to allow a trainee to work abroad at a centre of excellence for clinical experience or research in the fi eld of cataract and refractive surgery, anywhere in the world, for 1 year.

Applicants must be a European trainee ophthalmologist, 40 years of age or under on the closing date for applications and have been an ESCRS trainee member for 3 years by the time of starting the Fellowship.

The Fellowship will be awarded at the ESCRS Annual Congress in 2021, to start in 2022.

To apply, please submit the following:

 A detailed up-to-date CV  A letter of intent of 1-2 pages, outlining which centre you wish to attend and why  A letter of recommendation from your current

Head of Department  A letter from your potential host institution, indicating that they will accept you if successful

Closing date for applications is 1 May 2021

Applications and queries should be sent to programme@escrs.org

European trends in surgery

EUREQUO finds cataract severity and patient age declining, outcomes improving. Howard Larkin reports

Cataract patients are being treated earlier, while surgical complications have dropped and visual outcomes have improved in the past decade, Mats Lundström MD, PhD, Karlskrona, Sweden, told the 38th Congress of the ESCRS.

These findings reflect surgical trends across Europe drawn from more than 3.1 million cases reported to EUREQUO, the European Registry of Quality Outcomes for Cataract and Refractive Surgery, since its founding in 2007. Data in 2019 came from 330,202 cases reported from 16 countries.

Demographically, more men are now having cataract surgery, with women making up 56.7% of all patients in 2019, down from 60.6% in 2008. Mean age is dropping as well, to 73.4 years from 74.5 years 11 years earlier. Ocular comorbidities were reported in 27.9% of cases and a surgical difficulty in 9.8%.

Patient severity at the time of surgery trended down over the period, with mean CDVA falling to a mean value of 0.41 LogMAR from 0.46. Visual outcomes improved as well, to a mean CDVA of 0.04 LogMAR, with 78.4% at 0 LogMAR, or 6/6, and 96% at 0.3 LogMAR, or 6/12. Biometry prediction error stood at a mean of 0.39D and median of 0.28D with 74.4% within ±0.5D of target, Dr Lundström reported. Mats Lundström MD, PhD

In terms of surgery, phacoemulsification made up 98-to-99% of procedures during the entire period with topical anaesthesia gaining ground to 77.9% of procedures in 2019. Hydrophobic acrylic lenses are also gaining favour, making up 78.5% of implants.

Surgical complications also continue to decline over time, Dr Lundström said. In 2019, intraoperative complications and postoperative complications both stood at 1.2%.

“Altogether it is a very bright picture of improving quality of cataract surgery.” REFRACTIVE OUTCOMES Based on 12,192 cases reported from 65 sites, mean age of refractive surgery patients in 2019 was 42.0 years with 48.7% female, Dr Lundström reported. Mean preoperative manifest refraction was -3.1D (-0.12D to – 16.75D) for myopia, and +1.75D (+0.10 to +11.75D) for hyperopia.

In this sample, refractive lens exchange dominated, accounting for 46.6%, including 38% receiving trifocal IOLs; followed by LASIK at 33.9%, including 32% with laser-cut flaps; LASEK at 7.5% and PRK at 6.0%.

EUREQUO allows surgeons to monitor their own results and compare them anonymously with other colleagues, clinics and countries, Dr Lundström said. A new feature supports audit reports based on surgeons’ own data.

For more information, please visit https://www.eurequo.org Mats Lundström: mats.lundstrom@karlskrona.mail.telia.com