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Indications for corneal grafts differ between countries
Significant differences exist between patients of different ethnic backgrounds who receive corneal grafts in indications for transplantation and preoperative visual acuity, according to a study.
Margareta Claesson, MD, and W.J. Armitage compared a group of corneal graft patients in Jerusalem to one in Sweden. The study authors based the comparison on diagnosis, sex, age, preop visual acuity in both eyes and the type of operation performed.
The authors found that 51% of the grafts in east Jerusalem were performed to treat keratoconus compared with 27% in Sweden. The study also showed the male-to-female ratio was reversed in the two countries. The Palestinian patients had worse visual acuity in both the eye operated on and the fellow eye than patients in Sweden.
The study is published in the July issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.