Compliance with Follow-up after Cataract Surgery in Rural China

Abstract

Modest compensation, advertisements and telephone contact can increase medium-term follow-up rates after cataract surgery by three-fold. Better communication of specific targets for follow-up may improve follow-up compliance.

Benefits and risks of immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery: a literature review

“…[43][44][45][46] This issue is compounded by poor surgical follow-up rates, which can be as low as 20%, making it difficult to assess surgical quality in low-income settings. [47][48][49] Although some developing areas, such as Tanzania and parts of China, have reported rates comparable with developed countries, 27,30 rates are higher in other developing countries (0.033-2.9%). 24,25,28,29,31 Clearly, better surgical training is needed.…”

“…First and foremost are the less‐than‐optimal surgical outcomes that have been reported from less developed countries . This issue is compounded by poor surgical follow‐up rates, which can be as low as 20%, making it difficult to assess surgical quality in low‐income settings . Although some developing areas, such as Tanzania and parts of China, have reported rates comparable with developed countries, rates are higher in other developing countries (0.033–2.9%) .…”

Preoperative characteristics and compliance with follow-up after trabeculectomy surgery in rural southern China

“…One report on early assessment of cataract surgery at 40 hospitals in Africa, Asia and Latin America21 found that the 6-week follow-up rate in China (27%) was the lowest among 11 countries surveyed, while the mean follow-up rate across all institutions was 51%. A report on postcataract surgical follow-up from Africa22 has detailed similar low rates of medium-term follow-up: 54% at 8 weeks postoperatively, though studies in rural China23 24 have demonstrated that phone contact and offers of compensation can result in follow-up at 3–12 months in excess of 80%. The very few studies reporting follow-up rates after glaucoma surgery in developing areas give somewhat higher figures: 84% at 1 month in China14 and 58% at a year in India,9 though neither study was designed specifically to assess follow-up under routine conditions, and these results may not be representative.…”

“…The very few studies reporting follow-up rates after glaucoma surgery in developing areas give somewhat higher figures: 84% at 1 month in China14 and 58% at a year in India,9 though neither study was designed specifically to assess follow-up under routine conditions, and these results may not be representative. Among the few studies reporting on determinants of postoperative follow-up after eye surgery in low-income and middle-income countries, lack of knowledge,14 rural residence,14 visual impairment,14 low income23 and failure to recall physician's instructions to return24 were risk factors for poor compliance.…”

Benchmarking cataract surgical outcomes in Timor‐Leste

“…Clinical outcomes of cataract surgery in low‐resource settings have been variable, with poor long‐term follow‐up, often less than 50% . How then can a low resource setting eye hospital reliably measure the quality of its surgical outcomes?…”