OBJECTIVES: To identify hospital costs associated with cataract, glaucoma, vitreoretinal, and laser refractive surgeries that can be used to inform economic analyses.

METHODS: A targeted literature search was conducted in Ovid EMBASE and MEDLINE for studies published between November 2014 and November 2019. English-language articles that reported hospital costs (for diagnostics, procedures, monitoring, staff, facility, medications, anesthesia, consumables, complications, and administration/overhead) were included. Overall procedure-related (overall) costs were defined as the sum of costs to diagnose, treat, and monitor a patient. Costs are reported in 2020 USD.

RESULTS: Twenty-seven articles reporting 258 costs (121 cataract, 85 glaucoma, 51 vitreoretinal, 1 laser refractive) were included. Costs were obtained from North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa; however, costs from all four regions were only available for cataract surgeries. Overall costs for undefined cataract, glaucoma, and vitreoretinal surgeries were identified, as well as costs specific to intracapsular/extracapsular cataract extraction, manual small-incision cataract surgery, phacoemulsification, trabeculectomy, selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), minimally invasive cataract surgery, and vitrectomy. The overall cost of cataract surgery was generally higher in North America and Europe than in Asia and Africa, but costs varied greatly between Asian countries. Few overall costs for glaucoma surgeries were identified from outside of Canada, where costs ranged from $128 for SLT to $1,922 for trabeculectomy. The overall cost of vitrectomy ranged from $234 in Indonesia to $2,585 in England. A single cost for the equipment required to establish a laser refractive surgery unit was obtained from Nepal ($684,060). No anesthesia or complication costs were identified for any procedure.

CONCLUSION: Our review captured a variety of ophthalmic hospital costs from several regions that may be used to conduct future economic analyses; however, it also highlighted country- and procedure-specific data gaps in the literature. Future research is needed to collect costs for additional procedures and countries.