Immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) is a safe procedure, capable of reducing wait lists, according to a high-volume Canadian tertiary care centre.
Dr Simrenjeet Sandhu and colleagues from the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alberta, reported that of 406 patients who underwent ISBCS from July 2020 to December 2020, there were zero cases of toxic anterior segment syndrome or endophthalmitis. The ISBCS approach increased surgical volume by approximately 25% and reduced the number of patient visits by 50%, reducing potential COVID-19 exposure.1
Patients were selected based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, including psychosocial factors, refractive error, and consent. A Model of Improvement framework2 was used involving discussions with multidisciplinary teams of ophthalmologists, nursing and support staff, management, pharmacists, and medical device reprocessing teams.
The authors said the resulting protocol from the study may be useful to other centres wishing to integrate ISBCS.
They wrote, “In times of decreased elective surgeries, ISBCS is a safe and effective option to supplement surgical volume and provide significant patient benefits.”
References
1. Sandhu, S., Liu, D., Mathura, P., et al.,Immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) adapted protocol during COVID-19. Can J Ophthalmol.2023;58:171–178; doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjo.2021.10.003.
2. Langley, G., Moen, R.D., Nolan, K.M., et al., The improvement guide: a practical approach to enhancing organizational performance, 2nd ed.Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2009.