Patient-reported outcomes measure after cataract surgery using the Catquest-9SF questionnaire in a U.S. Veterans Health Administration population.

PURPOSE: To validate the Catquest-9SF survey in a U.S. Veteran population while assessing how cataract surgery affects quality of life from the patient's perspective.

SETTING

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, Illinois.

DESIGN

A prospective survey study of Veteran patients undergoing cataract surgery, gauging preoperative and postoperative responses to questions regarding vision-related daily tasks.

METHODS

Recruitment selected for all Veteran patients undergoing routine cataract surgery without a second simultaneous ophthalmic surgery. Patients who experienced complications during surgery were excluded. Outcomes were measured using the Catquest-9SF questionnaire and postoperative visual acuity.

RESULTS

257 Veterans were included in this study. Rasch person-measure estimates improved from -1.37 to -4.22 logits (Δ 2.85 logits), indicating higher visual functioning after cataract surgery. The Catquest-9SF demonstrated satisfactory Rasch performance (ordered thresholds, person reliability 0.83, person-separation 2.25, first contrast eigenvalue 1.65). Mean logMAR visual acuity improved from 0.41 ± 0.34 to 0.18 ± 0.22 (mean change -0.23; P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first use of the Catquest-9SF questionnaire as a patient-reported outcomes measure tool to investigate cataract surgery outcomes among U.S. Veterans. This study found that the Catquest-9SF satisfied validation criteria in a U.S. Veteran population and found cataract surgery to improve patient-reported outcomes, regardless of comorbidity.