To explore the causes of eye pain in elderly cataract patients after phacoemulsification.

Ninety elderly cataract patients who underwent phacoemulsification surgery at Ji'nan Second People's Hospital from February 2017 to October 2020 were selected. After the surgery, visual analogue scale was used to evaluate eye pain and analyze its causes.

Twenty-eight patients reported eye pain after surgery, with a pain incidence rate of 31.11%. There were 20 cases with mild pain (71.43%), 6 cases with moderate pain (21.43%), and 2 cases with severe pain (7.14%). There were 5 cases of postoperative eye pain caused by surgical related factors (17.86%), 8 cases of postoperative eye pain caused by patients' own factors (28.57%), and 15 cases of postoperative eye pain caused by psychological factors (53.57%).

Eye pain in elderly cataract patients after phacoemulsification is affected by many factors. In order to reduce the occurrence of postoperative eye pain, psychological intervention, health education and pain management should be strengthened in clinic, and the surgeon should continuously improve surgical skills.