comparison of visual outcomes between aspheric iols: acrysof iq and akreos ao

purpose: to compare acrysof iq and akreos ao aspheric intraocular lenses (iols) in terms of spherical aberration and contrast sensitivity. methods: thirty-seven eyes of 37 patients undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery were randomized to implantation of acrysof iq or akreos ao iols. three months postoperatively, best-corrected visual acuity (bcva), spherical aberration (with 4 and 6 mm pupil diameters) and contrast sensitivity in photopic and mesopic conditions at spatial frequencies of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cycles per degree (cpd) were determined. result: mean bcva was 0.083±0.071 logmar in the iq group and 0.115±0.090 logmar in the ao group (p=0.338). spherical aberration with both 4 and 6 mm pupil diameters was lower in the iq group as compared to the ao group (0.183±0.107 µm vs 0.285±0.087 µm, p<0.001 and 0.26±0.096 µm vs 0.329±0.083 µm, p=0.40, respectively). contrast sensitivity was significantly higher in the iq group at 1, 2 and 10 cpd under photopic and at 1, 10 and 20 cpd under mesopic conditions as compared to the ao group. conclusions: the acrysof iq seems to have better visual outcomes in terms of spherical aberration and contrast sensitivity as compared to akreos ao.