Cataract surgery workload estimates in Theni district, India.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To estimate the annual cataract surgery workload in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India based on current utilisation of cataract services, prevalence of blindness and vision impairment (VI), and cataract burden-reduction goals.

METHODS: We conducted a population-based longitudinal study between January 2016 and April 2018. We recruited 24 327 participants based on a random cluster sampling method; 7127 participants were ≥40 years. During the year following initial enrolment, we tracked utilisation of eye care services; and at the end of the 1-year period, we conducted a detailed eye examination of participants age ≥40.

RESULTS: In the sample age ≥40 years, 13.0% had a visually significant cataract, and 17.8% had prior cataract surgery in at least one eye. The prevalence of cataract blindness based on presenting visual acuity in the better eye (PVABE )<3/60 was 0.34% and VI (PVABE <6/12) was 9.92%. 3.10% of the study population had obtained cataract surgery during 1 year, resulting in a cataract surgical rate of 9085. We estimated the effective cataract surgical coverage (eCSC) to be 54.5% and the CSC to be 75.7%, implying a sizeable quality gap. Prevalence, utilisation and coverage varied by age and gender. We estimated that a goal of eliminating the backlog of VI (PVABE <6/12) in 5 years would increase the annual cataract surgery workload by 11.5% from the current level.

CONCLUSIONS: Our estimates of cataract surgery workloads under different scenarios can provide a useful input into planning of eye health services in Theni district.