Date: {{$ActivityAssignDate}}

Dear Dr. {{$doctorName}},

Subject: Participation in survey “Post-operative management of pain and inflammation following cataract surgery in routine clinical practice”

A cataract refers to the condition where the lens of the eye, which is typically clear, or its surrounding transparent membrane (the capsule), becomes cloudy or opaque. This obscures the light's path through the lens to the retina of the eye. This disease progresses gradually and is a major contributor to instances of blindness worldwide.

Globally, 94 million people are affected by cataract leading to blindness. The proportion of vision impairment due to unoperated cataract is much higher in low- and middle- income countries as compared to high-income countries. Similarly, even among children, congenital contract is a leading etiology for vision impairment in low-income countries. Vision impairment imposes a huge global financial burden of an estimated US$ 411 billion annual global productivity loss in purchasing power parity.

Early identification and treatment are key to prevent blindness due to cataract. Patients typically present with one or more symptoms from among the following: blurry vision, diplopia, halos around light, sensitivity to glare, affected colour vision and increased need to change glasses frequently. Physical evaluation might demonstrate reduced unilateral or bilateral visual acuity. Upon ophthalmic examination, cortical or nuclear cataract might be visible. In case of co-morbidities like diabetes mellitus, snowflake opacities and other fndings might be visible too. Treatment depends on the visual acuity. In case of visual acuity worse than 6/24, surgery is needed. Other health conditions need to be managed before performing cataract surgery for best outcomes.

Cataract surgery practice patterns have changed over the past years with better surgical out comes and safety. In most patients, surgery effectively restores vision in nearly 80% cases. Thus, early detection, timely intervention and appropriate pre- and post-cataract surgery management are key to restoring healthy vision in case of cataract. With the potential for great variability in clinical practice, this multicentric survey is planned to understand the prevalent practice pattern in management of pain and inflammation following cataract surgery.

If you agree to participate, you will be required to respond to questions of the enclosed questionnaire. We trust you and we are partners in promoting safe and effective drug therapy. In that spirit we hope you will consent to participate in this survey. If you do, please sign and return the enclosed reply along with your visiting card for accuracy of records.