Purpose: To investigate the effect of cataract surgery on subfoveal choroid thickness (SFCT) using enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT).
Materials and methods: Relevant publications were searched systematically through various databases from inception to March 2018. The unit of choroidal thickness measurements is micrometers. Studies comparing SFCT before and after cataract surgery were retrieved. All qualified articles were analyzed using RevMan 5.3.
Results: A total of 13 studies with 802 eyes from 646 patients were identified for inclusion. There was a significant increase of SFCT at 1 week (MD = 6.62, 95% CI: 1.20-12.05, P=0.02, I2 = 0%), 1 month (MD = 8.30, 95% CI: 3.20-13.39, P=0.001, I2 = 0%), and 3 months (MD = 8.28, 95% CI: 1.84-14.73, P=0.01, I2 = 0%) after cataract surgery. In subgroup analysis, SFCT in Asians and patients without nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in postoperative medication was significantly thicker (P < 0.05). No statistically significant increase of SFCT was found in diabetic mellitus (DM) patients for 1 day (P=0.89), 1 week (P=0.59), 1 month (P=0.52), and 3 months (P=0.42) after cataract surgery.
Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggested that SFCT increased since 1 week after the cataract surgery and the increase lasted for at least 3 months. Asians and patients without NSAIDs in postoperative medication were more likely to have a thicker SFCT after cataract surgery, whereas DM patients were less likely to increase in SFCT.