Reading and quality of life differences between Tecnis ZCB00 monofocal and Tecnis ZMB00 multifocal intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: To compare the NEI-RQL-42 quality of life questionnaire and the Radner Vissum reading test outcomes after bilateral cataract surgery with implantation of Tecnis ZCB00 monofocal and Tecnis ZMB00 multifocal intraocular lens (IOL).

METHODS: Forty-two eyes of 21 patients who had phacoemulsification were implanted with Tecnis ZCB00 IOL and 82 eyes of 41 patients were implanted with Tecnis ZMB00 IOL. They answered the NEI-RQL-42 questionnaire before cataract surgery and 3 months after it. The Radner Vissum test was performed 3 months after the surgery with optical correction for near vision in patients with monofocal IOL, but without it in patients with multifocal IOL.

RESULTS: Regarding the NEI-RQL-42 test, the multifocal group obtained better results in items 2, 7, 8, 11, 13, 31, and 40, and in the following categories: near vision, dependence on correction, and suboptimal correction (p<0.05). The monofocal group only showed better results in item 17. As for the Radner Vissum test, the multifocal group obtained significantly better results in phrases 1, 3, 4, and 5, and in the number of incorrect syllables (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with Tecnis ZMB00 multifocal IOL report a higher quality of life regarding the lack of need for optical correction for near vision in their daily activities, but halos in vision at night. Additionally, patients with multifocal IOL achieve similar or better reading quality at near vision and under photopic lighting conditions than patients with monofocal IOL with near vision optical correction.