Abstract
PURPOSE: The study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of cataract surgery in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 150 eyes (135 patients) with significant cataracts and different stages of DR, with or without maculopathy, who underwent cataract surgery from January 2020 until September 2022 at Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ), Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. All patients had a minimum of six weeks of postoperative follow-up. The demographic data, stages of DR, and clinical data of the eyes were recorded preoperatively and during the six-week postoperative follow-up. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 135 patients (150 eyes) with a mean age of 64 ± 9.34 were enrolled. The patients were primarily Malay (131 patients, 97.3%) and Chinese (four patients, 2.7%). Stages of DR were divided into five categories: non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) without maculopathy (73 eyes, 48.7%), NPDR with maculopathy (36 eyes, 24%), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) without maculopathy (16 eyes, 10.6%), PDR with maculopathy (16 eyes, 10.6%), and advanced diabetic eye disease (ADED) (nine eyes, 6%). The mean preoperative visual acuity (VA) was 6/60. Postoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) varied according to the stages of DR. NPDR without maculopathy showed good visual improvement with a mean of 6/9. For NPDR with maculopathy, the mean was 6/12; for PDR without maculopathy, it was 6/12; and for PDR with maculopathy, it was 6/24. For ADED, the postoperative mean was the poorest compared to other groups at 6/48. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of cataract surgery in the eyes of patients with DR depend on the severity of the disease. Early detection and appropriate management of DR are crucial for better postoperative VA.