Objective To measure the changes the retinal thickness in macular area and visual acuity after cataract phacoemulsification combined with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation in diabetic patients.

Methods Ninety patients treated with phacoemulsification combined with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation, which included 45 cases with diabetes mellitus complicated with cataract(45 eyes, observation group) and 45 cases with age-related cataract(45 eyes, control group), were investigated.The central macular thickness(CMT) and best corrected visual acuity(BCVA) in two groups were detected using the optical coherence tomography before operation, and after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months of operation.The changes of the CMT and BCVA at each time-point were analyzed between two groups, and the relationship between CMT and BCVA was investigated.

Results The CMT in observation group after 1 and 3 months of operation thickened compared with the control group(P < 0.01 and P < 0.05), and the most thickness of CMT in observation group was after 1 month of cataract surgery(P < 0.01).The post-operative logMAR BCVA value in two groups decreased compared with before operation(P < 0.01), and the levels of logMAR BCVA in observation group were higher than that in control group after 1 and 3 months of phacoemulsification(P < 0.01).The logMAR BCVA in observation group after 1 and 3 months of phacoemulsification were positively correlated with CMT(P < 0.05), and there were not correlation between logMAR BCVA and CMT in control group at all postoperative time points(P>0.05).

Conclusions The CMT significantly increases in diabetic patients treated with phacoemulsification combined with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation.The BCVA in two groups are improved, and the BCVA declines obviously in partial diabetic patients during the following-up, which may be related to the increasing of CMT after surgery.