Surgical outcomes in phacoemulsification after application of a risk stratification system

Abstract

Ioannis T Tsinopoulos,1 Lampros P Lamprogiannis,2 Konstantinos T Tsaousis,1 Asimina Mataftsi,1 Chrysanthos Symeonidis,1 Nikolaos T Chalvatzis,1 Stavros A Dimitrakos11Second Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Papageorgiou General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2First Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA General Hospital, Thessaloniki, GreeceBackground: The purpose of this study was to determine whether application of a risk stratification system during preoperative assessment of cataract patients and subsequent allocation of patients to surgeons with matching experience may reduce intraoperative complications.Methods: Nine hundred and fifty-three consecutive patients (1109 eyes) undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery were assigned to two groups, ie, group A (n = 498 patients, 578 eyes) and group B (n = 455 patients, 531 eyes). Patients from group A were allocated to surgeons with varying experience with only a rough estimate of the complexity of their surgery. Patients from group B were assigned to three risk groups (no added risk, low risk, and moderate-high risk) according to risk factors established during their preoperative assessment and were respectively allocated to resident surgeons, low-volume surgeons, or high-volume surgeons. Data were collected and entered into a computerized database. The intraoperative complication rate was calculated for each group.Results: The intraoperative complication rate was significantly lower in group B than in group A (group A, 5.88%; group B, 3.2%; P < 0.05). Patients from group B with no added risk and allocated to resident surgeons had a significantly lower rate of intraoperative complications than those from group A allocated to resident surgeons (group A, 7.2%; group B, 3.08%; P < 0.05).Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that allocation of cataract patients to surgeons matched for experience according to a uniform and reliable preoperative assessment of their risk of complications allows for better surgical outcomes, especially for resident surgeons.Keywords: cataract, risk stratification, complications, resident