Overcoming myopic shift by the initial inductive hypermetropia in pediatric cataract surgery

Association Between Preoperative Ocular Parameters and Myopic Shift in Children Undergoing Primary Intraocular Lens Implantation

Purpose

To evaluate the association between preoperative ocular parameters and myopic shift following primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in pediatric cataracts.

Methods

Eyes from pediatric patients undergoing bilateral cataract surgery with primary IOL implantation were included. Eyes were grouped by age at surgery and subdivided into three axial length (AL) subgroups and three keratometry subgroups. Mixed-effects linear regression was utilized to assess the trend in myopic shift among subgroups. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine factors associated with myopic shift.

Results

A total of 222 eyes were included. The median age at surgery was 4.36 years (interquartile range [IQR], 3.16-6.00 years) and the median follow-up was 4.18 years (IQR, 3.48-4.64 years). As preoperative AL increased, a decreased trend was observed in myopic shift and rate of myopic shift (P = 0.008 and P = 0.003, respectively, in the 4 to <6 years old group; P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively, in the ≥6 years old group). Greater myopic shift and rate of myopic shift were associated with younger age at surgery (P = 0.008 and P = 0.008, respectively). Both myopic shift and rate of myopic shift were negatively associated with AL.

Conclusions

Age at surgery and preoperative AL were associated with myopic shift in pediatric cataracts following primary IOL implantation. Adjusting the target refraction based on preoperative AL could potentially improve patients' long-term refractive outcome.

Translational Relevance

This study may help to guide the selection of postoperative target refraction according to age at surgery and preoperative ocular parameters for pediatric cataracts.

Pediatric cataract surgery: considerations and updates in diagnosis and management

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of updates in the diagnosis and management of pediatric cataracts, with an emphasis on recent discoveries in the last two years.

RECENT FINDINGS

Pediatric cataracts remain an infrequent but significant disease with vision threatening consequences. Although much of the management has not changed historically, more recent updates, particularly borrowed from adult cataract management, have influenced the field of cataract management in children. Even these studies emphasize that pediatric cataracts are a distinct clinical entity from adult-onset cataracts, and further research is needed to optimize the diagnosis and management of cataracts in childhood.

SUMMARY

This is an overview of the recent advancements in the diagnosis of management of pediatric cataracts, with advancements that originate from the adult cataract surgery field in addition to studies that challenge classical surgical techniques to make cataract surgery safer and to promote amblyopia therapy.

Deviations From Age-Adjusted Normative Biometry Measures in Children Undergoing Cataract Surgery: Implications for Postoperative Target Refraction and IOL Power Selection

PURPOSE

To evaluate whether pediatric eyes that deviate from age-adjusted normative biometry parameters predict variation in myopic shift after cataract surgery.

METHODS

This is a single institution longitudinal cohort study combining prospectively collected biometry data from normal eyes of children <10 years old with biometry data from eyes undergoing cataract surgery. Refractive data from patients with a minimum of 5 visits over ≥5 years of follow-up were used to calculate myopic shift and rate of refractive growth. Cataractous eyes that deviated from the middle quartiles of the age-adjusted normative values for axial length and keratometry were studied for variation in myopic shift and rate of refractive growth to 5 years and last follow-up visit. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine the association between myopic shift and rate of refractive growth and factors of age, sex, laterality, keratometry, axial length, intraocular lens power, and follow-up length.

RESULTS

Normative values were derived from 100 eyes; there were 162 eyes in the cataract group with a median follow-up of 9.6 years (interquartile range: 7.3-12.2 years). The mean myopic shift ranged from 5.5 D (interquartile range: 6.3-3.5 D) for 0- to 2-year-olds to 1.0 D (interquartile range: 1.5-0.6 D) for 8- to 10-year-olds. Multivariable analysis showed that more myopic shift was associated with younger age (P < .001), lower keratometry (P = .01), and male gender (P = .027); greater rate of refractive growth was only associated with lower keratometry measures (P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Age-based tables for intraocular lens power selection are useful, and modest adjustments can be considered for eyes with lower keratometry values than expected for age.