PURPOSE: To compare clinical characteristics and surgical out comes between keratoconus cases with and without acute hydrops (AH). METHODS: All keratoconus cases followed up at the Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro - UFF and at Clinica Oftamológica Souza Pena between 1982 and 2000 were reviewed. Main analyzed outcome parameters were: visual acuity, follow-up time since diagnosis, type of visual correction, morphological and keratometric classification, and surgical results. RESULTS: The overall acute hydrops incidence was 5.8%. Gender, keratoconus family history, atopy did not differ significantly between the two groups. Among acute hydrops cases, 72.7% were classified as peripheral cones, against 21.4% of the control cases (p < 0.05). Overall, 19% of the patients needed penetrating keratoplasty (PK). Out of 1062 eyes that did not develop acute hydrops, 8.4% underwent PK, compared to 88.4 % of the acute hydrops eyes (p < 0.05). Surgical outcomes showed no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Peripheral cones were more frequently related to acute hydrops, and consequently, to PK. Keratoconus surgical treatment results were similar in cases with and without acute hydrops.
Keratoconus; Corneal edema; Penetrating keratoplasty; Visual acuity; Retrospective studies
