Abstract
Purpose :
To document keratoconus stability after management with crosslinking and, simultaneously, compare data between disease stages according to the Amsler-Krumeich (AK) classification in order to identify a correlation between natural history of disease and response to treatment.
Methods :
We performed a retrospective longitudinal study in which data of 127 eyes treated with corneal cross-linking for keratoconus was obtained from their medical files. Crosslinking was performed between February and November 2019. Data obtained from medical files included: Flattest, steepest and mean keratometries, thinnest point pachymetry, non-corrected visual acuity, contact lens-corrected visual acuity, allergic conjunctivitis clinical data, as well as basic demographical data. Said parameters were registered previous to crosslinking and, posteriorly, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and yearly after the procedure. Pre and post-crosslinking variables were analyzed and compared with a Student's t-test.
Results :
Data was obtained from 127 eyes (86 male) treated with corneal-crosslinking for keratoconus between February and November 2019. Mean patient age was 27.6 ± 9.5 years and mean follow-up time was 27.7 ± 15 months. In the AK stage 1 subgroup (55 eyes), flattest keratometry decreased by 0.57 ± 1.95 diopters (P<0.05) and mean keratometry decreased by 0.51 ± 1.67 diopters (P<0.05). Steepest keratometry decreased by 0.44 ± 1.65 diopters with high tendency to statistical significance (P=0.05). In the AK stage 2 subgroup (27 eyes), thinnest pachymetry decreased by 8.37 ± 22.85 microns, but was not statistically significant (P=0.06). In the AK stage 3 subgroup (38 eyes), thinnest pachymetry decreased by 10.47 ± 25.9 microns (P<0.05). In the AK stage 4 subgroup (7 eyes), there were not any statistically significant changes. Data not mentioned from any group was not statistically significant.
Conclusions :
Our results suggest that the stage of the disease in which a patient is treated correlates with keratoconus stability after treatment with corneal crosslinking, that being, earlier stages show better response to the procedure. Sample size was an important weakness, including more patients could verify said correlation.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.