Visual function in patients with yellow tinted intraocular lenses compared with vision in patients with non-tinted intraocular lenses

AIM: To compare the visual function in patients with short wavelength blue light blocking yellow tinted intraocular lenses (IOLs) with that in patients with non-tinted IOLs. METHODS: 74 patients scheduled for bilateral cataract surgery underwent implantation of either yellow IOLs (HOYA YA60BB) or non-tinted IOLs (VA60BB) in both eyes. Contrast visual acuity with and without a glare source was measured under photopic (100 cd/m2) and mesopic (slightly higher luminance than typically used-5 cd/m2) conditions at 2 weeks and 3 months after surgery using the contrast sensitivity accurate tester. Visual acuity and the incidence of patients who noted cyanopsia were also examined. RESULTS: No significant differences between the yellow tinted and non-tinted IOL groups were observed in mean visual acuity or in photopic or higher luminance mesopic contrast visual acuity with and without glare source at either 2 weeks or 3 months after surgery. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in contrast visual acuity loss as a result of glare. The incidence of patients who noticed cyanopsia was significantly less in the yellow tinted IOL group than in the non-tinted IOL group at 2 weeks after surgery (p = 0.0234), but no patients reported cyanopsia at 3 months. CONCLUSION: Visual function in patients with yellow tinted IOLs is virtually the same as that in patients with non-tinted IOLs.