To evaluate whether pediatric eyes that deviate from age-adjusted normative biometry parameters predict variation in myopic shift after cataract surgery.

This is a single institution longitudinal cohort study combining prospectively collected biometry data from normal eyes of children <10 years old with biometry data from eyes undergoing cataract surgery. Refractive data from patients with a minimum of 5 visits over ≥5 years of follow-up were used to calculate myopic shift and rate of refractive growth. Cataractous eyes that deviated from the middle quartiles of the age-adjusted normative values for axial length and keratometry were studied for variation in myopic shift and rate of refractive growth to 5 years and last follow-up visit. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine the association between myopic shift and rate of refractive growth and factors of age, sex, laterality, keratometry, axial length, intraocular lens power, and follow-up length.

Normative values were derived from 100 eyes; there were 162 eyes in the cataract group with a median follow-up of 9.6 years (interquartile range: 7.3-12.2 years). The mean myopic shift ranged from 5.5 D (interquartile range: 6.3-3.5 D) for 0- to 2-year-olds to 1.0 D (interquartile range: 1.5-0.6 D) for 8- to 10-year-olds. Multivariable analysis showed that more myopic shift was associated with younger age (P < .001), lower keratometry (P = .01), and male gender (P = .027); greater rate of refractive growth was only associated with lower keratometry measures (P = .001).

Age-based tables for intraocular lens power selection are useful, and modest adjustments can be considered for eyes with lower keratometry values than expected for age.