ArticleJournal of ophthalmology2017
The Influence of Lunar Phases on Complications in Cataract Surgery: An Analysis of 16,965 Patients.
Article in Journal of ophthalmology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Elective arthroplasty on "high-risk" calendar dates: no evidence for worse outcomes in 43,000 procedures.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026Article
- What Do Patients Know About Anesthesia and Anesthesiologists?Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Moonlight surgery: no influence of moon phase or Friday 13th on outcomes of total knee arthroplasty.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePopular beliefs exert an impact of lunar phases on elective surgery. The aim of our study was to evaluate potential correlations between complications in cataract surgery and the phases of the moon during its passage through the zodiac and Fridays that fall on the 13th.
methodsPatients with complications during cataract surgery were extracted retrospectively from the clinical database from 2010 to 2014. The dates of surgeries were viewed in relation to the phase and the position of the moon (sign of the zodiac).
resultsOf 16,965 cataract surgeries, 132 eyes developed complications. 0.70% developed complications with a waxing moon, and 0.87% with a waning moon (
conclusionsThe analysis of "non-moon-fitting days" for surgery showed quantitative differences, without statistically significant findings. Our results revealed more complications when the moon was waning, which is in contrast to esoteric belief. Patients may be informed that phases of the moon, signs of the zodiac, or a particular date will have no impact on their surgeries.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.