Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40001188›Full record

ArticleTropical medicine and health2025

Predictors of attendance at the first follow-up and poor visual outcome after paediatric cataract surgery in Kinshasa for the years 2001-2021.

Helene Schulz, Elena Rakuša, Stefanie Frech, Thomas Stahnke, Ngoy J Kilangalanga, Rudolf F Guthoff, Gabriele Doblhammer

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Article in Tropical medicine and health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Helene SchulzDepartment of Sociology and Demography, Chair of Empirical Social Research and Demography, University of Rostock, Ulmenstraße 69, 18057, Rostock, Germany. helene.schulz@uni-rostock.de.
Elena RakušaGerman Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Bonn, Germany.
Stefanie FrechDepartment of Ophthalmology, Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany.
Thomas StahnkeDepartment of Ophthalmology, Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany.
Ngoy J KilangalangaEye Department, St. Joseph Hospital/CFOAC, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Rudolf F GuthoffDepartment of Ophthalmology, Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany.
Gabriele DoblhammerDepartment of Sociology and Demography, Chair of Empirical Social Research and Demography, University of Rostock, Ulmenstraße 69, 18057, Rostock, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAbout 90% of blind children come from low- and middle-income countries. The main cause of childhood blindness is cataract. Cataract surgery can improve vision, but regular follow-up is necessary. Low attendance at follow-up is a medical and statistical challenge, as missing information can lead to biased results. Two research questions arise: what social factors influence attendance at first follow-up? What social factors influence a poor outcome of visual acuity at first follow-up?

methodsAn observational cohort study was conducted, and the total base population was analysed. The study includes children who received cataract surgery at Saint Joseph Hospital (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 2001 to 2021. Cox regression was used to examine attendance at the first follow-up (n = 1100 operated eyes), ordinal logistic regression to analyse visual acuity at the first follow-up (n = 699 operated eyes), both clustered by patient identification number. Due to the high number of missing values, multiple imputation was performed as a sensitivity analysis.

resultsFemale sex, young age, very good visual acuity after surgery, and disease in both eyes led to lower attendance at follow-up. Poor visual acuity outcome at follow-up was associated with female sex, young age, poor financial situation, blindness after surgery and nystagmus.

conclusionsAs regular follow-up is crucial for an improved visual acuity outcome, it is recommended that special attention needs to be paid to the groups identified in our analysis to better integrate them into follow-up. In particular, the higher risk of poor outcome in younger children is surprising and requires further analysis.

Indexed as

Follow-upPaediatric cataract surgeryVisual acuity outcome

Identifiers

PMID40001188
PMCPMC11863572

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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.