A meta-analysis of Nd:YAG capsulotomy rates for two hydrophobic intraocular lens materials

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to estimate and compare neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) capsulotomy rates for AcrySof (®) and Clareon(®) intraocular lens (IOL) materials using historical data from the medical literature and Alcon-sponsored clinical studies. METHODS: Clinical trials that involved the implantation of AcrySof or Clareon monofocal IOLs in subjects with cataract or presbyopia were extracted from the literature and a company repository of clinical studies. The study duration, number of eyes, and cumulative percent of Nd:YAGs for posterior capsule opacification were extracted. Bayesian random effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate and compare outcomes for the 2 different IOL materials. RESULTS: A Bayesian random effects, meta-analysis was performed that combined a literature review of published AcrySof Nd:YAG posterior capsulotomy rates and Nd:YAG rates observed in Alcon-sponsored clinical studies of AcrySof and Clareon. Sixteen Alcon studies contained Nd:YAG data suitable for meta-analysis. Three of these Alcon studies contained results for the Clareon material (2 one-year studies, and 1 three-year study). The literature review included 50 papers from 1998 to 2015. In combination, 30,891 eyes were available for analysis and 2040 Nd:YAG procedures were reported in studies with a follow-up duration ranging in length from 4 months to 10 years. The overall probability of performing a Nd:YAG capsulotomy within a year of implant for AcrySof was 1.44% (1.11% to 1.83%) and 0.62% (0.21% to 1.38%) for Clareon. There was small improvement in the probability of Nd:YAG within a year of implant for Clareon lenses of about 0.82% with a 95% credible interval of (0.07% to 1.36%) at 1 year. Results were similar for incidence rates per 100 surgeries in a year: 0.62 (0.21 to 1.40) for Clareon, 1.46 (1.12 to 1.87) for AcrySof, and the difference was 0.84 (0.07 to 1.39) favoring Clareon. At 3 years, the overall probability of performing a Nd:YAG capsulotomy for AcrySof was 4.19% (3.24% to 5.30%) compared with only 1.82% (0.63% to 4.02%) for Clareon. CONCLUSION: A meta-analysis of Clareon multi-piece and single-piece clinical data predicts that the cumulative Clareon Nd:YAG probability will be ≤ AcrySof by 2.37% (0.18% to 3.91%) at 3 years. The results indicate that Clareon is likely to perform as well as, and possibly better than, AcrySof in terms of Nd:YAG capsulotomy rates.