Dr.NAVEEN RADHAKRISHNAN, R13846
Objective: To understand the barriers ofpatients requiring therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (TPK) for infective keratitis.
Methods: Prospective analysis of infective keratitis patients who underwent TPK between November 2015 and October 2016.
Results: 227 patients underwent TPK. The majority were males (n= 132, 58.1%), illiterate (n=129, 56.8%) and had a family monthly income of less than USD 92. The mean distance travelled by a patient to reach our centre was 269.2 ± 298.5km. The mean duration of disease before presentation was 20.3±21.1 days. The mean cost of treatment was USD 136.28±118.57. Positive correlation was observed between the duration (rho 0.19, p=0.0034) and the distance travelled by the patient.
Conclusion: Understanding these social, financial and behavioural barriers and the natural course of the disease will help ophthalmologists create new strategies to ensure the appropriate and timely intervention to reduce significant ocular morbidity.
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