The effect of cataract on accumap multifocal objective perimetry

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of visually significant cataract on Accumap multifocal objective perimetry. DESIGN: Interventional case series. METHODS: Fifteen eyes of 15 adult patients who underwent standard outpatient phacoemulsification cataract surgery with posterior chamber intraocular lens insertion with subsequent improvement of best-corrected visual acuity underwent Accumap testing before and after cataract extraction. Patients had no other ophthalmic disease or other conditions that may have affected visual evoked potentials. Results were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: Visually significant cataract was associated with a statistically significant reduction of mean Accumap amplitudes within the central 107 degrees (zone 1, P = .002; zone 2, P = .003; zone 3, P = .001) but did not affect the outer two zones (zone 4, P = .074; zone 5, P = .931). CONCLUSIONS: Accumap visual fields may be affected by visually significant cataract. Multifocal objective perimetry defects in the central 10 degrees should be interpreted with caution in patients with cataract. (C) 2003 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.