Risk of Pseudophakic Cystoid Macular Edema in Fellow-Eye Cataract Surgeries

Comment on: Light as a drug: prospective randomized evaluation and comparison of the effect of decreased illumination on visual recovery following cataract surgery

“…Several studies have indicated that preoperative factors, such as Black race, preexisting comorbidities such as epiretinal membrane or central retinal vein occlusion, a history of pseudophakic cystoid macular edema in the fellow eye, and preoperative use of topical prostaglandin analogs, are associated with a higher risk of postoperative cystoid macular edema after cataract surgery. [3][4][5] In the study by Rosenberg et al, patients with complex cases requiring additional manipulation and those with preoperative corneal pathologies were excluded. However, no information was provided about the preexisting comorbidities mentioned above in both groups.…”

“…2 We agree with the authors and prior literature which have shown various risk factors that predispose to higher rates of CME, such as race, preexisting retinal pathology, various pharmacologic agents, cumulative dissipated energy in phacoemulsification, and other medical and ocular comorbidities; however, we propose 1 additional risk factor that has not been considered subsequent to the early 2000s, plausibly because there had been no alternative available for conducting a comparative study. 5,6 Bonferroni post hoc analyses were performed investigating whether the exploratory variable elicited a response. For example, in the epiretinal membrane eyes (21), we found results and visual acuities to be equally distributed between groups (P = .889, P = .874; however, as the author points out, limited by power).…”