title: Clinical outcomes of cataract surgery in very elderly adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical outcomes of cataract surgery elderly adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two clustered hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred seven individuals aged 90 and older who underwent cataract surgery for primary senile cataracts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Best-corrected preoperative and postoperative Snellen visual acuity, type of cataract, surgical techniques, preoperative systemic or ocular comorbidities, and intraoperative and postoperative complications were assessed. Improvement of visual acuity was defined as a decrease in logMAR acuity of 0.1. Factors associated with visual outcome within 6 months after surgery were identified using logistic regression modeling. The duration of postoperative survival was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 207 participants (mean age 92.0 ± 2.1), 79.7% achieved visual improvement after cataract surgery. Forty-eight percent (mean age 97.4 ± 2.8) were alive on December 31, 2012. The most common systemic comorbidities were hypertension (66.2%), diabetes mellitus (25.1%), and myocardial infarction (19.8%). Age-related macular degeneration (AMRD) (15.9%), glaucoma (10.6%), and myopic degeneration (5.3%) were the three most common ocular comorbidities. Uncomplicated cataract surgery was performed in 87.0% cases. The most common complications were vitreous loss (8.2%), posterior capsular rupture (7.2%), and zonular rupture (4.8%). Participants with AMRD (P = .001, odds ratio (OR) = 4.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.86-12.26) and vitreous loss (P = .001, OR = 12.86, 95% CI = 2.71-61.10) were less likely to achieve postoperative visual improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite a high prevalence of systemic and ocular comorbidities in very elderly adults, good clinical outcomes of cataract surgery were attainable. ARMD and vitreous loss were associated with a lower chance of postoperative visual improvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Frank H P
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Julie Y C
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lok
authors.forename: Prudence P C
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Alvin L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity
keywords: cataract surgery; elderly; morbidity; risk factor; visual outcome