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ABSTRACT: Purpose
To review the graft survival rate, visual outcomes, and patient demographics of primary penetrating keratoplasty performed at Tenwek Hospital, a mission hospital in rural Kenya.Methods
A retrospective review was performed of the clinical records of patients who underwent primary penetrating keratoplasty for optical purposes from January 2012 to October 2014. The graft survival rates were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the effect of clinical and socioeconomic characteristics on time to graft failure were examined using Cox regression models.Results
118 patients met the inclusion criteria. The most common indication for surgery was keratoconus (66.1%), followed by corneal scar (22.0%). Despite all patients giving a verbal commitment to do so, 40 patients (33.9%) failed to make it to followup one year postoperatively. Graft survival at one year, inclusive of all indications, was 85.8%. Of the different indications, keratoconus had the highest one-year graft survival rate of 89.9%. Compared to the preoperative uncorrected visual acuity, 85.3% achieved an improvement at one year. Compared to patients who had completed college or university, the risk of developing graft failure was 4.7 times higher among patients with less education (P = 0.01).Conclusions
Corneal transplantation at Tenwek Hospital can be performed with a reasonable chance of success at one year, particularly in cases of keratoconus and in patients with higher educational backgrounds. Adherence to followup recommendations proves to be a challenge in this patient population. Additional studies of larger patient populations with longer follow up periods in similar settings may be helpful in informing appropriate patient selection and maximizing successful outcomes of corneal transplantation in low-resource settings.
SUBMITTER: Chen MC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5659646 | biostudies-literature | 2017
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Chen Michael C MC Kunselman Allen R AR Stetter Christy M CM Hannush Sadeer B SB Roberts Benjamin W BW
PloS one 20171027 10
<h4>Purpose</h4>To review the graft survival rate, visual outcomes, and patient demographics of primary penetrating keratoplasty performed at Tenwek Hospital, a mission hospital in rural Kenya.<h4>Methods</h4>A retrospective review was performed of the clinical records of patients who underwent primary penetrating keratoplasty for optical purposes from January 2012 to October 2014. The graft survival rates were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the effect of clinical and socioeconom ...[more]