Postoperative Compliance With Follow-Up Among Photorefractive Keratectomy Patients in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Introduction Refractive error is a condition that results when the eye fails to concentrate light rays from objects onto the retinal plane, resulting in blurry images. And it accounts for about 47% of all cases of vision impairment in high-income and developed countries. Methods This retrospective observational study was conducted among patients who underwent photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) Medical Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from patients aged 18 years or older with a stable refractive error and normal corneal topography. Data were tabulated in Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) and were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results A total of two hundred patients who underwent PRK were analyzed (male 44.5% {89} vs female 55.5% {111}). The most common age group was 18 to 30 years (81.5%, 163). The recommended four follow-ups post photorefractive keratectomy were recorded, and 100% (200) were in compliance with the first follow-up. In univariate analysis, increasing age and being an employee were the factors influencing compliance to follow-up. However, in multivariate regression analysis, being employed was the only significant independent predictor associated with follow-up compliance. Being not informed and busy schedules were recognized as the most important barriers to follow-up compliance. Conclusion Compliance with follow-up visits post-PRK was less than desired. However, employed patients may exhibit a better attitude toward follow-up visits than the rest. Hence, more efforts are required to educate patients about the importance of follow-ups, which may enhance their follow-up compliance.