[Risk factors and rejection frequency in patients undergoing penetrating keratoplasty]

Corneal transplantation is one of the surgical procedures most frequently performed worldwide and with better prognosis. Among its main indications include: keratoconus, bullous keratopathy, previous graft rejection, corneal dystrophy, and infection. The known risk factors for graft rejection are: recipient's age, presence of vessels in the recipient cornea, intraocular pressure, and retransplantation. The objective of this article is to determine the risk factors and frequency of corneal rejection in patients undergoing penetrant keratoplasty.

The study's design was descriptive, observational, transversal, analytical and retrospective. Patients operated of penetrating keratoplasty in cornea clinic with follow up during at least 6 months were studied. A review of the medical records of patients undergoing penetrating keratoplasty at the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI was performed.

The 35.3 % of the transplanted patients had corneal transplant rejection. Corneal neovascularization of the recipient cornea previous to transplant was present in 21.3 %.

In our study we found similar results to the reported in the literature, the most important risk factors for rejection was the use of threphine 7.50 mm, older patient with a history with previous corneal neovascularization, keratopathy and herpetic keratitis.