Abstract: Objective To estimate the impact of visual test on improving cataract surgery rate (CSR) in communities of Shantou in Guangdong Province from 2011 to 2012. Design cross-sectional study. Participants 14 370 people aged 50 years or over from 390 communities in Shantou. Methods Visual test were performed among senior people aged 50 years or over in Shantou communities by 4 trained staffs from 2 working teams (one nurse and one administrator as one working team) of Joint Shantou International Eye Center (JSIEC) at community committee or senior center. The administrator was responsible for organization and the nurse was in charge of visual test. Participants with pinhole-corrected vision ≤ 0.3 (Standard for logarithmic visual acuity chart) were suggested to JSIEC to take further examinations including slit-lamp, funduscopy by the certain doctors who were responsible for this item. The part of people with best corrected visual acuity ≤0.3, intraocular pressure ＜22 mm Hg, lens opacity, diagnosed cataract and without surgical contraindication were offered cataract surgery. The other people with other diseases were treated by specialized departments. The number of cataract surgeries in JSIEC from August 23, 2011 to August 22, 2012 was compared with the surgery number from last year at the same period. At last, the number and the rate of people who didn’t come to take visual test or didn’t come to our center or didn’t have cataract surgery were analyzed to estimate its potential impact on improving the CSR. Main Outcome Measures The number and the rate of people with cataract who didn’t come to take the visual test and the potential reserves of cataract surgery. Results  From 2011 to 2012, 14 370 (2.29%) of 627 900 people aged 50 years or over had a visual test in communities where the total population is about 2.48 million. Of which, 3753 (26.1%) people were suggested to JSIEC because of probable cataract. 1360 (68.3%) of 1990 patients who came to JSIEC were diagnosed cataract. 807 (59.3%) of them had eventually underwent cataract surgery. However, there are still 613 500 (97.71%) senior people including 160 200 people would have pinhole-corrected vision ≤0.3 didn’t enter the community visual test. 75 300(46.98%) of them would not come to JSIEC. There would have 58 000 (68.34%) cataract patients in the people who would come to JSIEC. Eventually, 23 600 (40.68%) patients would not undergo cataract surgery. Compared to last year, the number of cataract surgeries in JSIEC increased by 807 which means the CSR in these 390 communities can increase by 325.4 after the action. Conclusion There are still a certain number of cataract patients in Shantou, Guangdong province. The community visual test is simple, easy to carry out, and it can improve CSR of community areas, even in the urban district. However, there is about half of participants with pinhole-corrected vision ≤ 0.3 didn’t follow the referring suggestion, and about 40% patients with cataract didn’t follow the cataract surgery suggestion, which need to be further studied. (Ophthalmol CHN, 2013, 22: 239-243)

Key words: low vision, cataract, cataract surgery rate (CSR)