Analysis of age at detection and outcomes of dense unilateral congenital cataract surgery for children on the paediatric cataract register

Aim Analysis of age at time of detection and surgery of dense unilateral cataract and investigation of best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in a nationwide register‐based cohort study, based on the routine of maternity ward eye screening. Methods Data were derived from the Paediatric Cataract Register (PECARE). All children (n = 54) diagnosed with dense congenital unilateral cataract between January 2007 and September 2014 who had surgery before 1 year of age, and for whom 5‐year follow‐up records were available, were included. Results The majority, 35/54 (65%), were detected and operated on before age 6 weeks and 30/35 (86%) were referred from maternity wards. Visual acuity (VA) ≥ 0.5 (decimal, 0.3 logMAR) was found in 7/53 (13%) of the cohort at age 5 years; further, 19 children achieved VA ≥ 0.1 (decimal, 1.0 logMAR) (36%) and 19 children VA