Long-term clinical results after cataract surgery with and without capsular tension ring in patients with retinitis pigmentosa: a retrospective study

Objectives To describe the long-term clinical outcomes after cataract surgery with and without capsular tension ring (CTR) in a group of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Design A retrospective study. Setting Tertiary referral centre. Participants 52 eyes (46 patients) with RP. Interventions Cataract surgery was undertaken between October 2002 and May 2010. Primary and secondary outcome measures Visual acuity, secondary cataract, capsular contraction syndrome (CCS), intraocular pressure, cystoid macular edema (CME), intraocular lens dislocation and endophthalmitis. Results The mean age at surgery was about 53years and the overall mean follow-up was 26months (range 3-60months). The mean preoperative logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution of the best corrected visual acuity (LogMAR BCVA) in the entire group was 1.450.85 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.69) and had increased to 1.32 +/- 0.95 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.58, p=0.02). The mean preoperative and the mean postoperative LogMAR BCVA in the non-CTR group (group 1) improved from 1.16 +/- 0.8 (95% CI 0.83 to 1.48) to 0.98 +/- 0.88 (95% CI 0.62 to 1.33, p=0.02) and in the CTR group (group 2) from 1.74 +/- 0.81 (95% CI 1.42 to 2.07) to 1.66 +/- 0.90 (95% CI 1.3 to 2.03, p=0.31), respectively. Secondary cataract was observed in a total of 23 eyes (44%), of which 13 (50%) were belonged to group 1 and 10 (38%) to group 2. CCS was seen in a total of two eyes (4%) all under group 1. CME was noted in two eyes (4%), of which one belonged to group 1 and a second one to group 2. Endophthalmitis was not observed in any group. Conclusions Both surgical approaches were beneficial to the RP patients. Eyes under group 2 showed less long-term postoperative complications. This includes secondary cataract and CCS. Eyes under group 1 performed significantly better in respect of visual acuity. Further research would include insights into the genetic subsets.