Long Term Follow-Up Of Unilateral Keratoconus Patients With Scheimpflug Camera

Türkiye Klinikleri Oftalmoloji, cilt.29, no.0, ss.121-128, 2019 (Diğer Kurumların Hakemli Dergileri)

Objective: The aim of the present study was to represent the

long term follow-up of unilateral keratoconus (KC) patients with rotating

Scheimpflug camera. Material and Methods: Medical records of 919 KC follow-

up patients were reviewed. A total of 16 patients with at least 12 months

of follow-up period were recruited. The KC positive eyes constituted the “KC

group”, normal fellow eyes constituted the “fellow eye group”, and 24 eyes of

24 normal age-matched subjects “control group”. All subjects underwent a

complete ophthalmologic examination and were evaluated by rotating

Scheimpflug imaging system. Also, 9 patients with at least 36 months of follow-

up were evaluated separately. Results: The mean ages of KC and control

groups were 30.38±9.34, 31.62±8.49, respectively (p= 0.664). The mean follow-

up time in KC and control groups were 38.13±38.86 and 13.45±2.08, respectively.

Demographic factors were similar between groups. At baseline

examination, keratometry values , inferior superior difference at 4 mm (I-S),

topometric indices and corneal thickness at apex and the thinnest point were

significantly different between KC group and fellow eye group (p<0.05 for all

comparisons). In the longer follow-up of 9 eyes in KC group for a mean of

59.67±26.68 months, KC progressed in 2 eyes, however the fellow eyes of

these 9 remained stable. Conclusion: Although KC is known to be asymmetrical

but bilateral, unilateral diseases might also be detected. Follow-up of unilateral

KC patients is important to discrimiate asymmetrical keratoconus, which

requires early progression analysis for crosslinking decision to protect better vision

from really healthy fellow eyes that do not need intervention.