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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: PURPOSE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Collagen, Corneal Stroma, Corneal Topography, Cross-Linking Reagents, Female, Humans, Keratoconus, Keratoplasty, Penetrating, Male, Middle Aged, Photosensitizing Agents, Riboflavin, Ultraviolet Rays, Visual Acuity, Young Adult.
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Does Corneal Collagen Cross-linking Reduce the Need for Keratoplasties in Patients With Keratoconus? Context: To investigate whether the introduction of corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) influences the frequency of keratoplasties in patients with keratoconus. Data were obtained from a cohort of patients from our corneal transplant registry. Two different periods were compared, 2005 to 2006 (period 1) and 2013 to 2014 (period 2). Patients during period 1 had surgery before the introduction of CXL treatment, and patients in period 2 had surgery after this treatment was well established in our department. Age and gender were registered, and the Amsler-Krumeich classification system was applied to grade the degree of keratoconus. The total number of keratoplasties performed during period 1 was 137, and keratoconus was the cause of surgery in 55 eyes (55 patients). The corresponding numbers in period 2 were 231 and 26 eyes (26 patients), respectively. The difference in the number of keratoplasties for keratoconus in both periods was statistically significant (P = 0.003). There were no significant differences in the distributions of age and gender between both periods. In period 1, 63.6% of the eyes were graded as stage 4 in the Amsler-Krumeich classification, compared with 96.2% in period 2 (P = 0.001).
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The frequency of keratoplasty for keratoconus has been more than halved in our department over the last decade. There is reason to believe that this reduction is for a great part caused by the introduction of CXL treatment.