Meta-Analysis of the Comprehensive Efficacy of Intraocular Lens Implantation in Glaucoma Patients

This study is aimed at investigating the efficacy of intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in patients suffering from glaucoma through meta-analysis of the previously published research. For this purpose, different literature databases were searched for identification of clinical studies published between January 2000 and January 2022 on evaluating IOL's efficacy in treating glaucoma. RevMan 5.3 was used to conduct a meta-analysis of the pertinent data. The central anterior chamber depth (ACD), corneal endothelial cell counts, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), anti-glaucoma medications (AGM), and axial length (AL) changes were compared, and the incidence of postoperative complications was thoroughly evaluated. The Cochran chi-square test was used to examine the heterogeneity of the evaluation results. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 studies included 948 glaucomatous eyes. IOP was significantly lower than before treatment (MD=8.64, 95 CI: 5.75-11.53; Z=5.86,P < 0.0001), while ACD increased significantly (MD=-1.38, 95 percent CI: -1.74-1.02; Z=7.49,P < 0.0001). The corneal endothelial cell counts were homogeneous (MD=225.08, 95% CI: -64.17 to -514.33; Z=1.53,P=0.20). AGM utilisation decreased (MD=1.43, 95% CI: 0.752.12, Z=4.09,P < 0.0001). AL decreased significantly (MD=0.31; 95% CI: 0.09-0.54; Z=2.71;P=0.007). The incidence of complications remained insignificant after IOL treatment (OR=1.05, 95% CI: 0.42 to 2.60; Z=0.10,P=0.92;P=0.92). These findings indicate that IOL treatment can significantly reduce intraocular pressure, glaucoma drug use, and aqueous level (AL) in glaucoma patients while increasing the depth of the central anterior chamber. This study offers a theoretical foundation for selecting glaucoma treatment methods.