Studies On Survival Of Corneal Tissue Transplantation In Patients With Keratoconus

Objective : To analyze the investigations regarding the survival of corneal tissue transplanted into patients affected by keratoconus. Method : This is a review study with the following guiding question: “What are the factors that influence the survival of transplanted corneal tissue in patients with keratoconus?” An integrative review protocol was built for this study to ensure methodological rigor required. The sample selection was through a survey of articles in electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus and Science Direct in October 2014. Indexed descriptors in MeSH and/or synonyms were used: “keratoconus”; “Corneal transplantation” or “keratoplasty”; “Survival analysis” or “analysis of survival” or “method Kaplan-Meier.” Results : The final sample were thirteen articles available in full in accessible databases. Most of the studies were presented in the retrospective cohort design and used the Kaplan-Meier method for survival analysis. This data varied according to the surgical technique used and the factors that interfere in episodes of rejection postoperatively. Conclusion : The survival of corneal tissue was directly related to the main factors involved in post-transplantation, like rejection, vascular changes, adopted surgical technique and inflammatory processes.