Clinical and epidemiological aspects of cornea transplant patients of a reference hospital

OBJECTIVE: clinically characterizing cornea transplant patients and their distribution according to indicated and post-operative conditions of cornea transplantation, as well as estimating the average waiting time. METHOD: a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study performed for all cornea transplants performed at a reference service (n=258). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 20.0. RESULTS: the main indicator for cornea transplant was keratoconus. The mean waiting time for the transplant was approximately 5 months and 3 weeks for elective transplants and 9 days for urgent cases. An association between the type of corneal disorder with gender, age, previous surgery, eye classification, glaucoma and anterior graft failure were found. CONCLUSION: keratoconus was the main indicator for cornea transplant. Factors such as age, previous corneal graft failure (retransplantation), glaucoma, cases of surgeries prior to cornea transplant (especially cataract surgery) may be related to the onset corneal endothelium disorders.