National Corneal Transplant Registries

Abstract

National corneal transplant registries collect and analyze observational, longitudinal data and report outcomes on large numbers of patients across multiple transplant centres. Registry data are valuable for monitoring activity and outcomes, including rare events such as primary graft failure, and for showing the uptake of new surgical techniques. While randomized controlled trials (RCT) are considered to provide the highest level of evidence for comparative studies, the strict inclusion and exclusion criteria make generalization of the results and translation into routine practice at times uncertain. The greater heterogeneity of patient characteristics in registries provides a perhaps more realistic picture of expected outcomes. The same is true of carefully conducted single-centre case series, which can often provide benchmark data, but do not necessarily reflect the outcomes in routine practice in multiple centres. National registries provide an important source of information that contributes, along with RCTs, single-centre studies, expert opinion and meta-analyses, to a better understanding of corneal transplant outcomes.