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Rate of endothelial keratoplasty increased between 2001 and 2009
Keratoplasty rates among patients with corneal endothelial disease increased and the number of postoperative office visits decreased between 2001 and 2009, a large study found.
“The trends revealed by this study highlight the transformation in our surgical management for [corneal endothelial disease],” the study authors said. “With the creation of a unique billing code for [endothelial keratoplasty] in 2009, replicating this study in several years will likely reveal further trends in the use of keratoplasty for [corneal endothelial disease].”
The retrospective longitudinal cohort study included 38,648 subjects age 40 years or older with corneal endothelial disease enrolled in a large managed-care network; 2,187 patients underwent endothelial keratoplasty between January 2001 and December 2009.
The authors determined rates of keratoplasty at 6-month intervals and monitored the mean number of postoperative visits and rates of severe adverse events after keratoplasty.
The mean age of patients with corneal endothelial disease who underwent keratoplasty was 63.1 years; the mean age of all patients with corneal endothelial disease was 60.4 years.
Adjusted data showed that patients with corneal endothelial disease had 47% greater odds of undergoing keratoplasty between 2007 and 2009 than between 2001 and 2006. The mean number of postoperative visits in the year after keratoplasty diminished from 12.6 in 2001 to 2006 to 10.5 in 2007 and 2008.
Data showed no difference in the proportion of patients who experienced adverse events after surgery, the authors said.