Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Postoperative vision loss and visual disturbances in a Canadian provincial administrative data repository
Authors' conclusion
In surgical patients without a history of vision loss, new diagnosis codes for blindness, visual field defects, and visual disturbances other than ION and RAO may represent an important but overlooked aspect of POVL epidemiology.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing spine, cardiac and other common inpatient and ambulatory surgeries, Manitoba, Canada, 1987–2017, without pre-existing vision loss
- Participants
- 596,241 admissions
- Outcome
- Postoperative vision loss (POVL): specific diagnosis codes (RAO, ION) and nonspecific codes for blindness, visual disturbances and visual field defects
Methodological detailspopulation-based, health administrative database
- Population-based
- Health administrative database
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
POVL cases
Postoperative vision loss (POVL) cases in 596,241 admissions
170
Nonspecific diagnosis codes
140
82%
Retinal artery occlusion (RAO)
24
14%
Not analysed (privacy restrictions)
6
4%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Nonspecific diagnosis codes and risk factors
- Associated with risk factors previously reported for ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), RAO and cortical blindness
Incidence by surgery type
- Nonspecific code cases after other types of surgery
- 87 (62%)
- RAO cases after other types of surgery
- 11 (46%)
- Incidence of RAO and nonspecific codes highest after cardiac and spine surgery
Admissions excluded for suspected pre-existing vision loss
- Excluded admissions
- 158,730
- Excluded admissions with POVL diagnosis codes
- 345
Original publication
Postoperative vision loss and visual disturbances in a Canadian provincial administrative data repository. Can J Anaesth. Published 6 June 2025. doi:10.
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