Effect of keratoplasty on the quality of life of keratoconus patients

• Published in: Journal francais d'ophtalmologie Vol. 47; no. 6; p. 104185
• Main Authors: Jurkiewicz, T, Marty, A-S, Febvay, C, Burillon, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: France 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Cornea; Cornée; Keratoconus; Keratoplasty; Qualité de vie; Kératocône; Kératoplastie; Quality of life
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfo.2024.104185

Corneal deformations caused by keratoconus produce high levels of optical aberration (OA). Despite appropriate optical correction, these alter the quality of vision and diminish the patient's quality of life, especially since the affected population is predominantly young and of working age. When thinning is too severe or corneal transparency too impaired, a corneal transplant may be considered. In this study, we compare the quality of life of patients with keratoconus in the early (stages 1 and 2) or advanced (stages 3 and 4) stages of the Krumeich classification, as well as patients who have had keratoconus treated by keratoplasty. Quality of life was assessed using the NEI-VFQ 25 questionnaire, the most widely used for keratoconus. An aberrometric examination (OQAS®; HD Analyser, Visiometrics, Terrassa, Spain) was also performed to assess patients' quality of vision. Our results show that keratoplasty provides an improvement in quality of life compared with advanced-stage keratoconus in the areas of distance (p=0.0083) and near vision (p=0.029) activities. This improvement also applies to Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) (p=0.032) and transparency (OSI) (p=0.049). Our study shows that keratoplasty improves corneal transparency, and it is interesting to note that it improves patients' quality of life over the long term.