Prevalence of corneal astigmatism in patients having routine cataract surgery at a teaching hospital in the United Kingdom

To analyze and quantify the pattern of corneal astigmatism in patients awaiting cataract surgery and to establish the demand for toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) in a hospital unit.Singleton Hospital Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust, Swansea, United Kingdom.Cross-sectional study.Keratometric measurements of all patients attending the preassessment clinic over a 4-month period were prospectively collected and analyzed.The study comprised 1230 eyes of 746 patients with a mean age of 75.54 years ± 0.71 (SD). The corneal astigmatism was 0.50 diopter (D) or less in 301 eyes (24.47%), 1.50 D or less in 978 eyes (79.50%), more than 2.50 D in 57 eyes (4.61%), and 3.00 D or more in 24 eyes (1.93%).Of patients attending for routine cataract surgery at a single center, 497 (40.41%) had more than 1.00 D of astigmatism. The results can help hospitals analyze the demand for and cost of using toric IOLs in patients with corneal astigmatism.Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.