The following is a summary of “Incidence and Remission of Post‐Surgical Cystoid Macular Edema Following Cataract Surgery in Eyes With Intraocular Inflammation,” published in the June 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Gangaputra et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating the incidence, remission, and relapse of post-surgical cystoid macular edema (PCME) following cataract surgery in people with inflammatory eye disease.
They reviewed 1,859 eyes without significant macular edema before cataract surgery under tertiary uveitis care. Clinical data were gathered through a standardized review, and logistic regression models, adjusting for inter-eye correlations, were used to analyze the data.
The results showed that PCME causing VA 20/50 or worse occurred in 286 eyes (15%) within 6 months post-surgery. Higher risks were found in adults (age 18-64) (aOR: 2.42, for ages 18-44 and aOR: 1.93, for ages 45-64, overall P=0.02), concurrent use of systemic immunosuppression (conventional aOR 1.53 and biologics aOR 2.68, overall P=0.0095), pre-operative VA 20/50 or worse (overall P<0.0001), cataract surgery performed before 2000 (overall P=0.03) and PCME in fellow eye (aOR 3.04, P=0.0004) were correlated with PCME development of PCME within 6 months of cataract surgery. The PCME resolved in 81% of eyes at 12 months and 91% at 24 months, but 12% relapsed at 12 months and 19% at 24 months.
Investigators concluded that PCME was common in uveitic eyes after cataract surgery, which usually clears up within a year. Recurrences were likely from the underlying disease, not PCME relapses.