Endophthalmitis Rate in Immediately Sequential versus Delayed Sequential Bilateral Cataract Surgery within the Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS®) Registry Data

Purpose: To compare the rate of postoperative endophthalmitis after immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) versus delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery (DSBCS) using the American Academy of Ophthalmology Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS (R)) Registry database. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Participants: Patients in the IRIS Registry who underwent cataract surgery from 2013 through 2018. Methods: Patients who underwent cataract surgery were divided into 2 groups: (1) ISBCS and (2) DSBCS (second-eye surgery >= 1 day after the first-eye surgery) or unilateral surgery. Postoperative endophthalmitis was defined as endophthalmitis occurring within 4 weeks of surgery by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code and ICD code with additional clinical criteria. Main Outcome Measures: Rate of postoperative endophthalmitis. Results: Of 5 573 639 IRIS Registry patients who underwent cataract extraction, 165 609 underwent ISBCS, and 5 408 030 underwent DSBCS or unilateral surgery (3 695 440 DSBCS, 1 712 590 unilateral surgery only). A total of 3102 participants (0.056%) met study criteria of postoperative endophthalmitis with supporting clinical findings. The rates of endophthalmitis in either surgery eye between the 2 surgery groups were similar (0.059% in the ISBCS group vs. 0.056% in the DSBCS or unilateral group; P = 0.53). Although the incidence of endophthalmitis was slightly higher in the ISBCS group compared with the DSBCS or unilateral group, the odds ratio did not reach statistical significance (1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.87-1.31; P = 0.47) after adjusting for age, sex, race, insurance status, and comorbid eye disease. Seven cases of bilateral endophthalmitis with supporting clinical data in the DSBCS group and no cases in the ISBCS group were identified. Conclusions: Risk of postoperative endophthalmitis was not statistically significantly different between patients who underwent ISBCS and DSBCS or unilateral cataract surgery. (C) 2021 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology