Reporting astigmatism data: The consensus grows

The December 1998 issue of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery contains important information regarding the reporting of astigmatism data in the scientific literature.

Reference the editorial ("From the Editor") by Douglas D. Koch, MD; the letter from Goggin and Pesudovs, "Assessment of surgically induced astigmatism: Toward an international standard"; the letter from Naeser, "Format for reporting surgically induced astigmatism on aggregate data"; a response from Goggin and Pesudovs, "Assessment of surgically induced astigmatism: Toward an international standard II"; and a final reply from Koch and Holladay.

In his editorial, Koch points out that Naeser dismisses vector analysis as "obsolete." However, Koch writes, vector analysis "is a crucial reporting element. Vector analysis indicates the magnitude of surgically induced change, which we must know if we are to understand the effect of the procedure. Certainly, vector analysis should not be the sole means of reporting astigmatic results."

In the final reply by Koch and Holladay, the authors point out that they "respectfully disagree with some of the assertions about discrepancies between refractive astigmatism, topographic astigmatism, and surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) made by Alpins and others." The referenced passage is most important, and is addressed in an article at this website.

The ASSORT program incorporates the Alpins method of vector analysis. For help in analyzing your data using vector analysis, contact questions@assort.com.

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