Background To date, factors that influence satisfaction with cataract
surgery have not been broadly explored.
Objective To identify variables related to patient satisfaction after
cataract extraction by phacoemulsification and to determine the
relationship between satisfaction and visual acuity (VA) and visual
function (VF).
Design Prospective cohort study.
Setting Five hospitals belonging to the Basque Health Care Service.
Participants 4335 consecutive patients undergoing cataract extraction.
Interventions Clinical data on vision were collected before the
intervention and 6 weeks afterwards. Before cataract extraction,
patients answered a global question about their expectations for
the procedure, answered three questions related to specific activities
(reading, going out and recognizing people, and doing housework)
and completed the Visual Function-14 (VF-14) and Short-Form-36
(SF-36) instruments. Three months after cataract extraction, they
again completed the VF-14 and SF-36 along with questions about
global satisfaction with the procedure and satisfaction with the
three specific activities.
Main outcome measures Three months after cataract extraction,
they again completed the VF-14 and SF-36 along with questions
about global satisfaction with the procedure and satisfaction with
the three specific activities.
Results Pre-intervention VA and VF-14 scores and their postintervention
changes were associated with both global satisfaction and
satisfaction with the ability to perform specific activities. Unresolved
ocular complications were related to global satisfaction with cataract
extraction (OR95% = 0.39(0.27, 0.55), P < 0.001). Both the mental and
physical component scales of the SF-36 were related to global satisfaction.
A group of patients were not satisfied with the intervention in spite
of achieving similar vision-related improvements as patients who were
quite satisfied with the procedure.