Patient Harm in Cataract Surgery: A Series of Adverse Events in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts state agencies received reports of 37 adverse events (AEs) involving cataract surgery from 2011 to 2015. Fifteen were anesthesia related, including 5 wrong eye blocks, 3 cases of hemodynamic instability, 2 retrobulbar hematoma/hemorrhages, and 5 globe perforations resulting in permanent loss of vision. While Massachusetts' reported AEs likely underrepresent the true number of AEs that occur during cataract surgery, they do offer useful signal data to indicate the types of patient harm occurring during these procedures.

Preventing Adverse Events in Cataract Surgery: Recommendations From a Massachusetts Expert Panel.

Massachusetts health care facilities reported a series of cataract surgery-related adverse events (AEs) to the state in recent years, including 5 globe perforations during eye blocks performed by 1 anesthesiologist in a single day. The Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety, a nonregulatory Massachusetts state agency, responded by convening an expert panel of frontline providers, patient safety experts, and patients to recommend strategies for mitigating patient harm during cataract surgery. The purpose of this article is to identify contributing factors to the cataract surgery AEs reported in Massachusetts and present the panel's recommended strategies to prevent them. Data from state-mandated serious reportable event reports were supplemented by online surveys of Massachusetts cataract surgery providers and semistructured interviews with key stakeholders and frontline staff. The panel identified 2 principal categories of contributing factors to the state's cataract surgery-related AEs: systems failures and choice of anesthesia technique. Systems failures included inadequate safety protocols (48.7% of contributing factors), communication challenges (18.4%), insufficient provider training (17.1%), and lack of standardization (15.8%). Choice of anesthesia technique involved the increased relative risk of needle-based eye blocks. The panel's surveys of Massachusetts cataract surgery providers show wide variation in anesthesia practices. While 45.5% of surgeons and 69.6% of facilities reported increased use of topical anesthesia compared to 10 years earlier, needle-based blocks were still used in 47.0% of cataract surgeries performed by surgeon respondents and 40.9% of those performed at respondent facilities. Using a modified Delphi approach, the panel recommended several strategies to prevent AEs during cataract surgery, including performing a distinct time-out with at least 2 care-team members before block administration; implementing standardized, facility-wide safety protocols, including a uniform site-marking policy; strengthening the credentialing and orientation of new, contracted and locum tenens anesthesia staff; ensuring adequate and documented training in block administration for any provider who is new to a facility, including at least 10 supervised blocks before practicing independently; using the least invasive form of anesthesia appropriate to the patient; and finally, adjusting anesthesia practices, including preferred techniques, as evidence-based best practices evolve. Future research should focus on evaluating the impact of these recommendations on patient outcomes.

Early use of eyeglasses for myopia predicts long axial length of the eye.

Patients with long axial length (AL) eyes (> 25 mm) are at increased risk of globe perforation during performance of intraconal (retrobulbar) eye block. These patients often require glasses or contact lenses for myopia (nearsightedness) as children or young adults. A history of early correction for myopia might, therefore, be a predictor of long AL eyes. One hundred one patients undergoing cataract surgery had AL measured and answered questions about their use of corrective lenses. We found that a history of correction for myopia as a child or young adult was 82% sensitive and 84% specific for having a measured AL > or = 25 mm. Patients with this history may be at increased risk for globe perforation during intraconal block.