comparison of contrast sensitivity and visual acuity after phacoemulcification with aspherical and spherical hydrophilic iol implantation

purpose: to compare aspheric and spherical hydrophilic intraocular lenses (iols) in terms of contrast sensitivity and visual acuity in photopic and mesopic conditions. methods: this triple-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 40 eyes of 40 patients at al-zahra eye center, zahedan, iran. the eyes were randomized to standard phacoemulsification procedure with spherical (adapt, b&l;) or aspherical (adapt ao, b&l;) iols. all operation were performed using the alcon infinity system by one surgeon and the iol was placed within the capsular bag. two months postoperatively, best corrected visual acuity (bcva) in mesopic condition with brightness value of 8cd/m2 as well as contrast sensitivity with bcva in mesopic and photopic conditions with and without glare of 3cd/m2 were determined using the metrovision monelci contrast sensitivity device (53.8lux). quality of vision was compared between the two groups by comparing average contrast sensitivity at frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cycle per degree using t-test. results: there was no statistically significant difference between the study groups regarding bcva or contrast sensitivity at different frequencies under photopic or mesopic conditions with pupil diameter of 5mm, and under photopic or mesopic conditions with glare. conclusion: considering the risk of visual loss due to iol decentration. besides contrast sensitivity, other factors such as price and ease of insertion and access should be considered for determining the iol of choice in cataract surgery.