Abstract
Purpose: :
The authors compare their data concerning keratoplasty realized in their service the last 10 years. They specifically analyze the average waiting time between registration on waiting list at the national level and the act of surgery. This study includes the possible variations of these figures according to the seasons.
Methods: :
The study is retrospective, concerns 318 cases of keratoplasty including penetrating keratoplasty (PK), deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) and descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) realized in the department of Ophthalmology by the same surgeon between October 2001 and October 2011. The authors analyze the duration of expectation of the patients and its variations following the seasons, the characteristics of the various patients (sex, age) and the main indications of keratoplasty.
Results: :
318 cases of keratoplasty were listed over the concerned period. Patients average age was of 68.37 + /-30 years (range, 17-98 years), women's proportion was 53.77 % (171cases) against 46.22 % (147cases) for men, and the average waiting time between patients’ registration on waiting list until the date of surgery was 2.59 +/-15 month (range, 0.03-24 months). The main indications of keratoplasty where: keraconus (18.8 %), pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (36.6 %), Fuchs dystrophy (10.8 %), traumatic keratopathy (9.2 %) and post infectious keratopathy (19.2 %). According to the seasons, the distribution was: 71 keratoplaty in winter (22.57 %) for a mean age of 65.59+/- 20 years (range, 17-98 years), a proportion of 43 women for 28 men and an average waiting time of 1.82 + /-8 months (range, 0.03-10 months); 97 keratoplasty in spring (30.50 %) for a mean age of 69.44 +/-30 years (range, 28-95 years), a proportion of 49 women for 48 men and an average waiting time of 2.55 + /-months (range, 0.03-6 months); 66 keratoplasty in summer (20.75 %) for an average age of 70.12 + /-30 years (range, 20-90 years), a proportion of 31 women for 35 men and an average waiting time of 2.93 + /-5 months (range, 0.2-24 months) and finally 84 keratoplasty in autumn (26.41 %) for an average age of 68.12 + /-30 years (range, 17-98 years), a proportion of 48 women for 36 men and an average waiting time of 3.03 +/-6 month (range, 0.2-14 months).
Conclusions: :
The found data show that the average waiting time between patients’ registration on waiting list and the intervention for keratoplasty is on average of 2.59 months over the last 10 years, with a peak of intervention more important in spring (30.5 %) less important in summer (20.75 %), and a waiting time by season shorter in winter (1.82 months) and longer in autumn (3.03 months).
Keywords: transplantation • cornea: clinical science • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: biostatistics/epidemiology methodology