The cataract situation in Latin America: barriers to cataract surgery

Purpose: To provide an update of cataract data and barriers to cataract surgery in Latin America.

Design: Review and longitudinal study.

Methods: Cataract surgery rates and other related indicators that have been reported to the VISION 2020 Latin America program since 2005 were reviewed. PubMed was searched for publications concerning regional epidemiologic studies related to cataract, cataract surgery, barriers, outcomes, and cataract prevalence between January 2012 and October 2013 to obtain the most up-to-date data from 19 countries.

Results: The weighted mean regional cataract surgery rate has increased by an impressive 70% since 2005, from 1562 to 2672 cataract surgeries per 1 million inhabitants. The weighted mean number of ophthalmologists per 1 million inhabitants in the region is approximately 62. Cataract surgery coverage varies widely in Latin America, from a meager 15% in El Salvador to a more satisfactory 77% in Uruguay. Five recent surveys indicate that lack of awareness of cataract and the surgery treatment option as well as the cost of the surgery are the main barriers to cataract surgery.

Conclusions: In spite of the increasing rates of cataract surgery and the more-than-adequate number of ophthalmologists in Latin America, it is not known how many ophthalmologists actually perform surgery. Coverage remains less than satisfactory across the region. Barriers to cataract surgery hinder the efforts of eye care programming. More comprehensive eye care programs and training centers are needed so that they can focus on reaching the underserved and unaware communities, increase surgery output and uptake, and improve outcomes.