Independent-effect comparison of five crosslinking procedures for Progressive Keratoconus based on Keratometry and the ABCD Grading System using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE)

PURPOSE: Corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) is an effective treatment for progressive keratoconus. Multiple CXL modalities are clinically available. The present study compared the 1 year outcomes of five types of CXL procedures for progressive keratoconus in a Chinese population using generalized estimating equations (GEE). METHODS: This retrospective study included 239 eyes in 171 patients with keratoconus who underwent CXL and were followed up for 1 year. Five CXL procedures were assessed, including Accelerated Transepithelial CXL, Iontophoresis CXL for 10 min, CXL plus phototherapeutic keratectomy (CXL-plus-PTK), High-Fluence Accelerated CXL, and Accelerated CXL. Patients treated with the Accelerated CXL procedure represented the reference group. Primary outcomes were visual acuity change, spherical equivalence, endothelial cell density, mean keratometry (K(mean)), maximum keratometry (K(max)), minimum corneal thickness (MCT), and the ABCD Grading System, consisting of A (staging index for ARC; ARC = anterior radius of curvature), B (staging index for PRC, PRC = posterior radius of curvature), and C (staging index for MCT) values 1 year postoperatively compared to baseline. Secondary outcomes were corrected GEE comparisons from each procedure versus the Accelerated CXL group. RESULTS: The Accelerated Transepithelial CXL group had lower performance than the Accelerated CXL group according to K(mean) and K(max). The CXL-plus-PTK group performed significantly better than the reference group as reflected by K(max) (β = -0.935, P = 0.03). However, the CXL-plus-PTK group did not perform as well for B and C, and the Iontophoresis CXL group performed better for C. CONCLUSIONS: The CXL-plus-PTK procedure was more effective than the Accelerated CXL procedure based on K(max), and the Iontophoresis CXL procedure performed better on the C value based on the ABCD Grading System. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12886-022-02744-w.