Effects of Cross-Linking on Visual Acuity in Patients with Keratoconus

Keratoconus is a progressive disease occurring in adolescence or early twenties. In an eye with keratoconus, the cornea thins and bulges out into an irregular cone shape. Although keratoconus may be seen in one eye, in 90% of cases, both eyes are damaged. Cross-linking is a novel, very chip, and rapid method to treat keratoconus. Since few studies have evaluated this method we assessed the improvement of keratoconus following cross-linking.

This clinical trial study was performed in Feiz Hospital during 2010-11. The target population was patients with keratoconus who were scheduled for cross-linking. Visual acuity was measured before and after the operation. The collected data was analyzed with SPSS20.

The mean ± SD of visual acuity was -2.66 ± 2.2 before the operation and -2.8 ± 4.7 after the operation (P = 0.65). While visual acuity was not changed in 29 patients (29%), it decreased in 43 cases (43%) and increased in 28 (28%).

According to the results of this study, cross-linking had no acceptable effects on visual acuity in cases of keratovonus. More studies are required to clarify the efficacy of this method in improving keratovonus.