Intravitreal Injections Increase Risk of PCR During Cataract Surgery

In this interview from ASRS 2016, Dr. Aaron Y. Lee discusses his recent study showing patients who had 10 or more injections face a 2.59 times higher risk of suffering posterior capsule rupture during cataract surgery. Lee and colleagues used more than 10 years of data from electronic medical records collected in the United Kingdom to conduct their study. In another example of the power of big data, Lee describes the inception of the study beginning with a phone call from a colleague in September. Two weeks later, a program is written and the data analyzed. Six months later, results are published in the June 2016 issue of Ophthalmology. Though they don’t know why these patients are at an increased risk of PCR, Lee hypothesizes that repeated scleral deformations may induce structural disruption of the zonules or posterior capsule.