Caffeine and Cataract After Pars Plana Vitrectomy

Vitrectomy is a frequently used surgical procedure in ophthalmology for various indications like retinal detachment repair or macular pucker peeling. Amongst others, accelerated cataract development in phakic patients is a known complication after vitrectomy. A previous study found that especially patients receiving gas tamponade are at increased risk for postoperative cataract development. The assumed mechanism behind this finding is that vitrectomy leads to an increased partial pressure of O2 in the human vitreous - similar to that observed in posterior vitreous detachment - subsequently leading to accelerated lens opacification. Therefore, a possible target of cataract prevention is the inhibition of oxygen radical formation. One known antioxidant agent inhibiting oxygen radical formation is caffeine. For instance, in-vitro studies showed that caffeine consumption can reduce cataract development in ultraviolet (UV)-radiation-exposed rats and human lens epithelial cells through its capability of inhibiting oxygen radical formation. These in-vitro studies support the findings of epidemiological studies that caffeine also in-vivo has the potential to reduce cataractogenesis. Conflating the previous findings of accelerated cataract formation after vitrectomy and the preventive properties of caffeine for cataract development, there may be a benefit for patients regularly consuming caffeine-containing beverages like coffee undergoing vitrectomy regarding postoperative cataract formation.

Therefore, the aim of this comparative study is to investigate if patients undergoing small gauge pars plana vitrectomy regularly consuming caffeine have lower postoperative significant cataract formation rates than patients not consuming caffeine.