
Safety of deferring review after uneventful cataract surgery until 2 weeks postoperatively
Author(s) -
Line Kessel,
Jens Andresen,
Ditte Erngaard,
Per Flesner,
Britta Tendal,
Jesper Hjortdal
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cataract and refractive surgery/journal of cataract and refractive surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.678
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1873-4502
pISSN - 0886-3350
DOI - 10.1016/j.jcrs.2015.11.010
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , cataract surgery , ophthalmology
We conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis to provide evidence-based recommendations on the value of early postoperative review. We identified 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared patients seen on the first postoperative day with those reviewed at 2 weeks; the 3 studies comprised 886 patients. The risk for postoperative complications was lower when review was deferred 2 weeks because of early transient pressure spikes. There was no difference in the number of unscheduled visits during the first 2 weeks postoperatively or the visual acuity at follow-up. No safety was gained by reviewing patients on the first postoperative day, and we recommend that routine early postoperative control can be omitted in nonglaucomatous patients after uneventful surgery if symptomatic patients are seen by an ophthalmologist as needed.