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. 2022 May;42(5):1391-1399.
doi: 10.1007/s10792-021-02127-y. Epub 2021 Nov 25.

Clinical profile and microbiological trends of therapeutic keratoplasty at a network of tertiary care ophthalmology centers in India

Anthony Vipin Das  1 , Sunita Chaurasia  2 , Joveeta Joseph  3 , Aravind Roy  4 , Sujata Das  5 , Merle Fernandes  6
Affiliations

Clinical profile and microbiological trends of therapeutic keratoplasty at a network of tertiary care ophthalmology centers in India

Anthony Vipin Das et al. Int Ophthalmol. 2022 May.

Abstract

Objective: To describe the clinical profile and microbiology trends in patients undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty at a multi-tier ophthalmology hospital network in India.

Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 3147 eyes undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty between Jan 2016 and Dec 2020 (5 years period) as cases. The demographic data, clinical profile and microbiological analysis were collected using an electronic medical record system.

Results: Of a total of 13,625 eyes with microbial keratitis(non-viral), 3147 (23.1%) underwent therapeutic keratoplasty during the study duration. Majority of patients were males (68.35%), from a rural geography (49.89%) and in 51-60 years age bracket (23.74%). The mean age of the patients was 50.54 ± 15.83 years. Two-thirds of patients were from lower socio-economic strata (66.63%) with an agrarian background (36.51%). Of the 3,147 eyes, fungus (51.8%) was the most common indication of therapeutic keratoplasty followed by bacteria (16.87%) and parasite (1.27%). No organisms could be identified in about a third (29.33%) of the cases. Between 2016 and 2020, the trend of therapeutic keratoplasties for fungal infections steadily grew (39.9% vs 45.49%) while the bacterial infections showed a steady decline (23.15% vs 11.81%).

Conclusions: Medical cure rate was seen in majority of those with microbial keratitis, and 23.1% eventually required management with therapeutic keratoplasty. Fungal keratitis was the most common indication for therapeutic keratoplasty. Male gender, rural setting, low socio-economic background and agricultural occupation are common risk factors for patients undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty in India.

Keywords: Electronic medical records; India; Keratitis; Keratoplasty; Therapeutic keratoplasty.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Trends of etiological organism in Microbial Keratitis (2016–2020)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Microbiological trends in therapeutic keratoplasty (2016–2020)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Decade wise distribution of patients who underwent therapeutic keratoplasty (2016–2020)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Year wise distribution of therapeutic keratoplasty (2016–2020)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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