Keratoplasty Outcomes in Patients With Uveitis

Lauren Hennein, Nathan G. Lambert, Winston Chamberlain, Kristin Hirabayashi, Jennifer Rose-Nussbaumer, Julie M. Schallhorn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose:To examine the corneal transplant failure rates and associations with uveitic eye disease.Methods:The retrospective chart review identified 70 eyes from 42 patients with uveitis that underwent 40 primary transplants and 30 repeat transplants at 2 major academic centers over a 9-year period. The graft failure rate was calculated. Variables hypothesized to be associated with graft failure were analyzed as covariates using a Cox proportional hazards analysis clustered by the patients to determine their association with failure rates.Results:Of the 70 grafts, the mean duration of follow-up for patients was 40.6 months (range 4-90 months) and the median survival time was 24.1 months (interquartile range of 9-290 months). Twenty-two patients (52%) had graft failure. There was a higher rate of graft failure in patients with infectious uveitis as compared to those with noninfectious uveitis (hazard ratio 2.46, P = 0.031). Patients with successful grafts had their inflammation controlled for a longer period of time before transplantation as compared to those with failed grafts (38.6 vs. 13.6 months, P = 0.004). Worse preoperative visual acuities were significantly associated with graft failure (P < 0.001).Conclusions:There is limited knowledge of corneal transplant outcomes in uveitic patients in the current literature. In our study, over half of the grafts failed. Infectious uveitis (especially viral) was a strong predictor of graft failure. A shorter period of inflammation control before transplantation, previously failed grafts, and worse preoperative visual acuity were also associated with graft failure.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)590-595
Number of pages6
JournalCornea
Volume40
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2021

Keywords

  • corneal transplant
  • keratoplasty
  • uveitis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ophthalmology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Keratoplasty Outcomes in Patients With Uveitis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this