RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Establishing the influence of case complexity on the order of cataract lists: a cross-sectional survey JF BMJ Open Ophthalmology JO BMJ Open Ophth FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP e000809 DO 10.1136/bmjophth-2021-000809 VO 6 IS 1 A1 Keri McLean A1 Mariantonia Ferrara A1 Rebecca Kaye A1 Vito Romano A1 Stephen Kaye YR 2021 UL http://bmjophth.bmj.com/content/6/1/e000809.abstract AB Objective Order of the theatre list and complexity of the cases are important considerations which are known to influence surgical outcomes. This survey aimed to establish their influence on cataract surgery.Methods and Analysis Cataract surgeons ordered five cataract cases according to their surgical preference, first using case notes and second using composite ORs (CORs) for posterior capsule rupture. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were used to analyse the data.Results Between 11 June and 14 July 2020, 192 cataract surgeons from 14 countries completed the online survey. Majority of the surgeons (142 vs 50) preferred to choose the order of their list (p<0.01) and to review the case notes prior to the day of surgery (89 vs 53; p=0.04). 39.86% preferred to start with the less risky case and 32.43% reserved the last position on the list for the riskiest case. There was a significant trend to order the list in an ascending level of risk, independent of whether case notes or CORs were used. Additionally, 44.79% of the respondents indicated they would be happy to have their list order planned by an automated program based on their preferred risk score.Conclusion This survey demonstrates that cataract surgeons prefer to choose the order of their theatre list and that the order is dependent on the complexity of cases. There is support among surgeons for automated list ordering based on an objective score for risk stratification, such as a COR.All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.