Evaluation of Functional Complaints in Patients with Visual Acuity 20/30 to 20/20before and after Cataract Surgery

Overview

Purpose:
To quantify patient’s functional visual complaints in early cataract andafter cataract surgery.Patients and Methods: Forty nine patients scheduled for cataract surgery witha visual acuity of 20/30 or better on Snellen optotypes at the time of patientselection and no other ocular pathology were evaluated subjectively for visualfunctions preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively. Subjective visual functionswere evaluated using a questionnaire that evaluated patient’s visual functionsby assessing the degree of difficulty they experience in performing tasks involvingdistance vision, near vision, mesopic vision and glare conditions.Results: The questionnaire scores were correlated with visual performance bothbefore cataract surgery and thereafter. Significant improvement of subjectivevisual performance was described postoperatively.Conclusion: Questionnaire should be considered as adjuncts to visual acuity andcontrast sensitivity testing in evaluation of early cataract.

Key words:
early cataract, subjective complaints