The incidence of complications related to the corneal graft in the group of 758 patients

Abstract

AbstractPurpose: The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of complications regarding corneal graft and a comparison of their occurrence depending on the diagnosis and other risk factors in single center in Poland.Methods: Retrospective analysis of the hospital records of patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty between January 2016 and December 2020 at the Department of Ophthalmology of District Railway Hospital, Katowice Poland.Results: The most common complication was late endothelial failure (7.92%), then perforation (4.1%), bacterial keratitis (3.23%), non‐infectious corneal melting (2.2%), graft rejection (1.9%), epithelialization disorders (1.47%), endophthalmitis (0.88%), herpetic keratitis (0.73%), wound dehiscence, fungal keratitis, primary disease recurrence, post‐herpetic melting and infectious melting (0.15%). Patients with acanthamoeba (0%), herpetic (12.5%), fungal keratitis (30.8%) and perforation (35.2%) turned out to have the lowest success rate. Patients from the high‐risk group were 4.65 times more likely to develop complications than the low‐risk group. Multivariate regression analysis revealed three variables to be significant factors: high‐risk group (OR:4,12, CI: 2.59–6.55, p = 0.00), concomitant ophthalmic diseases (OR: 3.12, CI: 1.60–6.08, p = 0.00), connective tissue diseases (OR: 7.76, CI: 2.40–25.05, p = 0.00).Conclusions: Chronic loss of the endothelium after penetrating keratoplasty is one of the main reasons for graft failure. The occurrence of complications is most dependent on the indication for transplantation and, despite the passage of years, remains a major challenge in the treatment.