Methods: A two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to draw a sample of Cataract Surgery Unit from Ophthalmic Units of central and southern ltaly. A questionnaire was sent to 25 cataract surgery centers in nine health districts that represented the range of establishments public, private, accredited or otherwise in which cataract surgery is performed. Data were collected on numbers of procedures performed in 2005, hospital admission type, time from the onset of cataract day surgery, surgical procedure, and presence of other surgical centers