Accuracy of new and standard intraocular lens power calculations formulae in Saudi pediatric patients

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of new generation formulas to standard formulas for intraocular lens (IOL) power calculations in pediatric patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This retrospective case series compared the postoperative refractions to the predicted refractions after lensectomy and IOL implantation in pediatric patients. Four new generation formulas (Haigis, Holladay II, Olsen, and Barrett Universal II) were compared to four standard formulas (Holladay I, Hoffer Q, SRK/T, and SRKII) 4. The absolute prediction error (APE) was calculated as the absolute difference between the actual postoperative spherical equivalent and predicted spherical equivalent). The Friedman test was used to evaluate the difference between formulas. P < 0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS: The study sample was comprised 44 eyes from 29 patients (20 males and 9 females) with median age at surgery of 2.85 years (2.04–6.14 years). The Holladay I and II, Barrett Universal II, SRK/T, SRKII, Olsen, and Hoffer Q formulas had comparable median APE (MedAPE) of 1.32 D (0.51–2.11 D), 1.34 D (0.82–1.94 D), 1.28 D (0.73–1.85 D), 1.26 D (0.60–2.08 D), 1.16 D (0.54–1.16 D), 1.34 D (0.80–1.98 D), and 1.27 D (0.63–2.08 D), respectively (P = 1.0). The Haigis formula had the statistically highest MedAPE of 2.00 D (1.27–3.04 D) (P < 0.001). More than 70% of eyes were within ±2.0 D for the Holladay I and II, Barrett Universal II, SRK/T, SRKII, Olsen, and Hoffer Q formulas. Fifty percent of eyes were within ±2.0 D for the Haigis formula. CONCLUSION: New generation IOL formulas do not outperform standard IOL formulas in predicting postoperative refraction for pediatric patients.