RESUMEN
Background and objective: Cataract and glaucoma are common co-morbidities and are the first and the second leading causes of blindness worldwide. There are many reasons to consider cataract extraction in individuals with cataract. These individuals derive great visual benefit from the increased acuity and improved contrast sensitivity provided by a clear artificial lens. An improvement in vision allows for more accurate visual field monitoring, and a clear optical pathway enhances the quality and reproducibility of optic nerve imaging. This study aimed to determine the association between intraocular pressure with cataract surgery in human eyes by monitoring changes in intraocular pressure in patients who underwent cataract surgery at Hawler Teaching Hospital at Erbil
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 71 subjects that underwent cataract surgery at Hawler Teaching Hospital at Erbil city from April 2013 to April 2014. Full ophthalmic examination including intraocular pressure measurement was done to every participant before cataract surgery, one week and one month after surgery
Results: Paired samples t-test showed highly significance difference [P <0.001] between mean intraocular pressure measurements before, one week and one month after cataract surgery. The average decrease in postoperative intraocular pressure from preoperative intraocular pressure during one month was 2.02mm Hg [12.39%]
Conclusion: Cataract surgery reduces intraocular pressure and can be considered as an effective way to manage patients with a concurrence of glaucoma and cataracts