Vision related quality of life of patients with keratoconus after keratoplasty at a Tertiary Eye Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE

To assess the vision-related quality of life (VQoL) for patients with advanced keratoconus (KC) after primary keratoplasty.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study, undertaken at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2015. Adults (aged 22-75 years) were interviewed via telephone with regard to their VQoL, on the average, 5 years after undergoing primary keratoplasty for advanced KC. VQoL was measured using the Visual Functioning Index (VF-14, Arabic version). The relationship between VQoL and different demographic and clinical factors was evaluated using linear regression.

RESULTS

Ninety-five adults participated in the study (54.7 % males; mean age at the interview = 32.05 ± 7.18 years). Eighty-seven (91.6%) of them had undergone PKP. The overall mean VF-14 score was 86.19% (SD: 12.91). VF-14 score was significantly lower for individuals with higher log average K (beta coefficient, -28.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], -55.59 to -1.04;  = 0.042) and hazy graft (beta coefficient, -12.76; 95% CI, -21.16 to -4.36;  = 0.003) adjusting for the effect of keratoplasty technique and BCVA in the better eye at the last follow up.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that most patients with advanced keratoconus had satisfactory VQoL after primary keratoplasty. Certain subgroups may benefit less substantially than others and would need a particular attention.