Analysis of preoperative factors predictive of visual acuity in axial myopia

Purpose: To identify the factors predicting visual acuity after cataract surgery in patients with high myopia. Setting: Departments of Ophthalmology, Showa University School of Medicine and Showa University Fujigaoka Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan. Methods: Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the factors determining the visuai acuity in 940 eyes with an axial length of 27.0 mm or longer having cataract surgery. Using a formula derived from the stepwise regression analysis. the predicted postoperative visual acuity was compared with the actual value measured in another group of 104 eyes. Results: Five factors were identified to significantly determine postoperative visual acuity axial length, age, corneal opacity, refractive power of the cornea, and history of retinal detachment surgery. There was a significant relationship between predicted and actual postoperative visual acuities (r= .51, P < .001). Postoperative visual acuity was similar in 63% of cases. Conclusion: The results showed that at least five factors determine visual acuity after cataract surgery in patients with high-myopia.