[Visual functions and quality of life in patients with keratoconus]

To evaluate quality of life and visual functions in patients with keratoconus wearing rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses.

Keratometry and objective refraction, uncorrected visual acuity, visual acuity with RGP contact lens, high order aberrations and letter contrast sensitivity before and after RGP application were measured in 22 keratoconus patients. Vision-related quality of life was examined by the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ 25)

The average spherical equivalent in the study group was -7.28 (+/- 5.53), the average keratometry was 50.04 D (+/- 4.24) and the average corneal astigmatism -3,44 Dcyl (+/- 2,72). The uncorrected visual acuity was 0.20 (+/- 0.18), the corrected visual acuity 0.78 (+/- 0.22). The improvement of visual acuity after RGP fitting was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The RGP fitting didn't cause significant changes in high order aberrations and in contrast sensitivity. The NEI-VFQ overall score was 79.2. Keratoconus was associated with lower scores in these categories: dependency, mental health and ocular pain.

Keratoconus is a disease which may have a marked impact on the quality of life beacuse it affects young adults in their active years. The use of RGP correction can significantly improve visual acuity but, at least in our study group, did not lead to significant improvement in contrast sensitivity and corneal aberrations.