Intraoperative Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography in the Management of Cataract Surgery: State of the Art.

BACKGROUND

The introduction of non-invasive diagnostic tools in ophthalmology has significantly reshaped current clinical practice in different settings. Recently, different anterior segment (AS) intraoperative optical coherence tomography (i-OCT) systems have been employed for different interventional procedures including cataract surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A review on the use of AS i-OCT in the management of cataract surgery, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PRISMA). The level of evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEM) 2011 guidelines, and the quality of evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system were assessed for all included articles.

RESULTS

Out of 6302 articles initially extracted, 6302 abstracts were identified for screening and 32 of these met the inclusion/exclusion criteria for full-text review; 19 articles were excluded.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of AS i-OCT in cataract surgery, even if only a few studies have a high level or grade of evidence, may represent a useful tool for novel surgeons approaching phacoemulsification but also for expert ones for teaching purposes and to plan and manage complicated cases.