Functional Results without Correction of Cataract Surgery during a Free Campaign at Siguiri Prefectural Hospital in Guinea

Background: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world and its treatment is exclusively surgical. However, the results of cataract surgery are not always as good as is assumed and this aspect of surgical services needs a lot of attention. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the functional results of the free cataract surgery campaign carried out at the Siguiri Prefectural Hospital in Guinea. Patients and Method: This was a descriptive and retrospective cross-sectional study over a period of three months (1 October-31 December 2017). Records of cataract-operated patients during the study period were reviewed. The complete files for the main variables sought were retained. Sociodemographic data and visual acuity without pre- and post-operative correction were assessed. Functional outcomes were analysed according to WHO guidelines and recommendations for post-operative functional outcomes of cataract surgery. The data was collected and processed using Excel version 2010 software. Results: A total of 108 eyes from 102 patients were the subject of this present study on 314 eyes from 289 operated patients. 64 (%) men and 38 women (%) had a follow-up of 6 weeks after cataract surgery, a sex ratio of 1.68 in favor of women. The average age was 62.45 ± 15.20 years with extremes of 25 and 90 years. The age group from 60 to 69 years is the most represented with 46 cases or 45.45%. Housewives and farmers are the most represented strata with 42 cases (41.18%) and 31 cases (30.39%) respectively. The operative technique was Phaco A in 4/5 of the cases. No implant calculations were performed. Functional results indicate that 66% of patients had good visual acuity (≥3/10); 29% of patients had borderline visual acuity (between 1/10 and 2/10) and 13.30% had poor visual acuity (<1/10). Conclusion: The importance of the rate of poor results in our study should draw our attention to the conduct of free cataract surgery campaigns. The problem of cataract blindness is often compounded by poor outcomes of surgical procedures, especially in low-income settings. The use of biometrics, implants of appropriate power as well as compliance with operative indications, surgical protocols and postoperative follow-up by surgeons will improve the visual result without correction.