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Corneal thickness a potential predictor for corneal transplant survival after PK
Corneal thickness may be used as a predictor for corneal graft survival after penetrating keratoplasty but not as a substitute for cell density measurements, according to a study.
The randomized, prospective, multicenter 5-year trial included 887 patients who underwent PK for moderate-risk conditions such as Fuchs’ dystrophy (65%), psuedophakic or aphakic corneal edema (31%), or various other diagnoses (4%).
Higher longitudinal corneal thickness measurements were seen more frequently in patients with pseudophakic or aphakic corneal edema (P < .001) and in those with IOP measurements greater than 25 mm Hg during the first postoperative month (P = .003).
One-year corneal thickness measurements and cell density were associated with graft failure (P = .002 and P = .009, respectively).
Both corneal thickness and endothelial cell density serve as predictors of graft failure independently and measure different parameters of corneal health; therefore, it is incorrect to consider corneal thickness a proxy for endothelial cell density, the authors said.