Reading performance depending on the type of cataract and its predictability on the visual outcome.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of various types of cataract on reading performance in a standardized reading test setting.


METHODS
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.


METHODS
The reading performance of 94 eyes with age-related cataract and normal macular function was evaluated with the Radner Reading Charts preoperatively and 4 weeks after cataract surgery. Distance visual acuity was tested with the ETDRS charts. Cataracts were graded using the Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS) III, on which NO is nuclear opalescence and NC is nuclear color.


RESULTS
Patients with pure nuclear cataracts (LOCS III: NO/NC 2.1-5) achieved a normally high MRS (99.84% +/- 7.65% of their postoperative MRS): preoperative MRS(1): 190.6 +/- 30.74 words per minute (wpm); postoperative MRS(2): 191.21 +/- 29.36 wpm. Patients with mixed nuclear-cortical cataracts (LOCS III: NO/NC 2.1-5; C>2) preoperatively achieved 96.96% +/- 5.6% of their postoperative MRS (MRS(1): 175.77 +/- 31.54 wpm; MRS(2): 181.34 +/- 30.56 wpm). In dense nuclear cataracts (LOCS III: NO/NC>5), the MRS was significantly reduced, achieving only 72.64 +/- 19.19% of the postoperative MRS (MRS(1): 133.06 +/- 39.43 wpm; MRS(2): 185.76 +/- 40.18 wpm). In posterior subcapsular cataracts, the preoperative MRS (134.1 +/- 33.72 wpm) was significantly lower than postoperatively (191.14 +/- 27.08 wpm).


CONCLUSIONS
In contrast to dense nuclear cataracts and posterior subcapsular cataracts, the preoperative reading speed of patients with pure nuclear or nuclear-cortical cataracts was normal at large print sizes. The preoperative evaluation of reading acuity and speed with standardized reading tests can therefore be used to estimate the postoperative reading performance in the latter 2 types of cataract.
Stifter
Eva
E
Departments of Ophthalmology and Optometry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Sacu
Stefan
S
Weghaupt
Herbert
H
König
Franz
F
Richter-Müksch
Sibylla
S
Thaler
Arnulf
A
Velikay-Parel
Michaela
M
Radner
Wolfgang
W
D000368:Aged; D002386:Cataract / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011932:Reading; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000295:instrumentation; D014792:Visual Acuity