Practice patterns of Canadian Ophthalmological Society members in cataract surgery--2009 survey.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the practice patterns of the members of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) in cataract surgery.


METHODS
A questionnaire consisting of multiple choice questions on cataract surgery practices was sent as an attachment by email to the members of the COS.


METHODS
Seven-hundred and seventy-seven COS members with a valid email address in the Society's database.


METHODS
A 29-item questionnaire pertaining to cataract surgery practices was sent by email. A reminder email with the attached questionnaire was sent 3 weeks later. The survey data were descriptively analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v 16.0 software and the results compared with those from surveys by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.


RESULTS
There were 161 responses. Of these, 30 members did not do any cataract surgery, and a further 8 responses were incomplete, therefore, 123 responses were analyzed. The majority of the respondents (69.1%) were between 40-59 years old. Phacoemulsification was the procedure of choice of all the respondents. Topical anaesthesia with clear corneal incisions was the most popular technique. Only 59.8% of respondents used a NSAID drop while 90.1% used a steroid drop postoperatively.


CONCLUSIONS
The practice patterns of the members of the COS for cataract surgery have not been reported before. This survey will serve as a baseline for future ones.
Ong-Tone
Lindsay
L
University of Saskatchewan, Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region, Regina, Sask. longtone@accesscomm.ca
Bell
Ali
A
D000328:Adult; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002170:Canada; D006302:Health Services Research; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009885:Ophthalmology; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce