Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35648002›Full record

ArticleIndian journal of ophthalmology2022

Reasons for delay in cataract surgery in patients with advanced cataracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rajesh Vedachalam, Kumaresan Yamini, Rengaraj Venkatesh, Narendran Kalpana, Chandrashekaran Shivkumar, Madhu Shekhar, Aravind Haripriya, Ravilla Sathya

Open access · diamondAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Indian journal of ophthalmology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Barriers and Enablers to Seeking Eye Care Among the Adult Indian Population: A Systematic Review.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026
    Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Rajesh VedachalamSenior Resident, General Ophthalmology, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, India.
Kumaresan YaminiGlaucoma Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, India.
Rengaraj VenkateshGlaucoma Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, India.
Narendran KalpanaCataract Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Chandrashekaran ShivkumarCataract Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.
Madhu ShekharCataract Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Aravind HaripriyaCataract Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Ravilla SathyaPediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Services, Sri Venkateshwara Aravind Eye Hospital, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Aravind Eye Hospital · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the reasons for delay in cataract surgery in patients with advanced cataracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter questionnaire study which included patients with mature cataract, nuclear sclerotic cataract grade IV, and cataracts with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) <5/60, during the COVID-19 pandemic from December 2020 to April 2021. Reasons for delay in presentation to the hospital were analyzed. Results: One thousand four hundred seventy two patients were recruited with advanced cataracts. Absence of ophthalmic care nearby (44.2%), lack of awareness regarding elective surgeries (42.6%), lack of public transportation (37%), fear of contracting COVID-19 (23.4%), and waiting for outreach camps (20.4%) were found to be the reasons behind the delay in cataract surgery. 53.7% of the patients had worsening of defective vision and 55.3% of them had difficulty in carrying out activities of family living. 30.8% of the patients faced difficulty in commuting and 8.4% of the patients suffered a fall during this pandemic due to worsening of the visual acuity. Conclusion: The lockdown imposed during the pandemic has created a significant backlog of patients who are progressing to advanced cataracts due to lack of ophthalmic care nearby, lack of awareness regarding elective surgeries, lack of public transportation, and no outreach camps. Proactive measures to deal with this backlog are of utmost need to prevent blindness due to cataract.

Indexed as

CataractCOVID-19Communicable Disease ControlCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPandemicsProspective StudiesAdvanced cataracts during COVID-19 pandemicbarriers for cataract surgery during pandemicdelay in cataract surgery

Identifiers

PMID35648002
PMCPMC9359252
OpenAlexW4282930617

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.