Abstract
Purpose:
The Herpes Simplex Virus is a common cause of corneal pathology, being the leading cause of infectious blindness corneal in developed countries. The recurrence rate is high. Periodic re-activations in the cornea are particularly important because the cumulative effect of the reinfection can lead to scarring or perforation, being an etiologic diagnosis common in patients who are undergoing penetrating keratoplasty. The objective of this study was to assess the evolution in patients with herpetic keratitis penetrating keratoplasty and identify the factors that could influence the corneal rejection.
Methods:
An observational retrospective study that reviewed the records of 36 patients in the Fundacion Hospital NuestraSeñora de la Luz was conducted. Factors were analyzed such as indication of the surgical procedure, procedure, treatment pre surgical and post-surgical with acyclovir dosage and administration time, date in which the surgery was carried out, presence or not of activity at the time of surgery, outcome 3 years specifically the presence of rejection, failure or success at the time of the last review.
Results:
From December 2009 to December 2011 we reviewed 36 records of 36 patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty for herpetic keratitis. The patient age at surgery was 35.05 years, 22 were women and 13 men, 4 patients received preoperative treatment with acyclovir, 32 did not. The average treatment dose was 400 mg every 12 hours and the average time was 8.5 months. As pos operative treatment 22 received acyclovir and 14 did not, being the prophylactic dose of 200 mg every 12 hours average and the therapeutic dose of 400 mg every 12 hours, with an average of 9.63 months, 14 patients had no rejection and 22 had at least one episode , 9 of which came to failure in average 21.88 months after surgery, 6 of these 9 cases were treated with pre operative acyclovir and 3 were not.
Conclusions:
We conclude that the population with herpetic keratitis can gain Visual benefits with a penetrating keratoplasty. However there are factors that can affect the prognosis and that should be taken into account for best results.
Keywords: 573 keratitis •
741 transplantation •
674 receptors