Evidence Hub

Impact of Patient Characteristics and Surgery-Related Risk Factors on Endophthalmitis after Cataract surgery: A Meta-Analysis

Shanshan Zhang, Jian Xu

Ophthalmic Research, 2025

6 citations

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide, with a notably high incidence rate. Endophthalmitis is the most severe complication following cataract surgery, often resulting in profound vision loss. This study evaluates the impact of risk factors such as age, sex, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, posterior capsule rupture (PCR), type of surgery, and use of intraocular lens (IOL) material on the risk of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. METHODS: English and Chinese public databases were searched from inception to March 1, 2024. We included studies reporting the number of occurrences of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery on potential risk factors, including age, sex, DM status, hypertension status, intraoperative PCR, type of surgery and use of IOL material. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: A total of 57 studies were included and critically evaluated in the meta-analysis. The results showed that female sex was associated with a lower risk of endophthalmitis (odds ratio [OR]: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.75-0.87; p < 0.001). Individuals with diabetes who underwent cataract surgery were found to have a greater risk of endophthalmitis (I2 = 95%; OR: 4.90; 95% CI: 2.41, 9.95; p < 0.001), but the result may be influenced by publication bias. Individuals with hypertension (OR: 2.88; 95% CI: 1.53, 5.45; p = 0.001) and intraoperative PCR (OR: 9.18; 95% CI: 3.31, 25.43; p < 0.001) were found to have a…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free