Comparative study of first-day postoperative cataract review methods.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether telephone review on the first day after uneventful phacoemulsification is as effective as postoperative review in a hospital or the patients' home by nursing staff.


METHODS
Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Sunderland, United Kingdom.


METHODS
This prospective study comprised 3 arms, each of which consisted of 100 patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation. Patients received the same postoperative medications and were given a questionnaire regarding their opinions on the method of postoperative review. The method of review was different for each arm as follows: (1) home review by a nurse, (2) return to the hospital for review by a nurse, and (3) telephone review by a nurse. Statistical analysis of relative frequencies was done; exact testing was applied throughout to test for differences in proportions and, where applicable, to construct 95% confidence intervals.


RESULTS
There were no significant differences between the 3 groups in the degree to which patients understood the instructions and questions. The telephone group was significantly less reassured than the home-visit group, but there was no significant difference in the degree of reassurance between the telephone and hospital-visit groups. Seventy percent of patients in the telephone group listed telephone review as their preferred method of postoperative review.


CONCLUSIONS
In cases of uneventful phacoemulsification, telephone review is safe, effective, and acceptable and is a reasonable alternative to other first-day review methods.
Mandal
Kaveri
K
Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Sunderland SR2 9HP, England, UK.
Dodds
Steven G
SG
Hildreth
Anthony
A
Fraser
Scott G
SG
Steel
David H W
DH
D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone