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. 2018 May;126(5):1548-1550.
doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000002526.

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

Sarah A Roberto  1 , Joseph Bayes  2 , Paul E Karner  1 , Michael G Morley  3 , Karen C Nanji  4
Affiliations

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

Sarah A Roberto et al. Anesth Analg. 2018 May.

Abstract

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.
Injection position for (A) retrobulbar block and (B) peribulbar block. Illustration by Holly Sullivan.
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References

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