الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
keratoconus, a non-inflammatory, degenerative ectatic disease. It is characterised by a central corneal thinning and an apical bulging of the cornea. Adolescents are disproportionately affected. The severity of ocular aberrations worsens as the disease advances, reducing contrast and blurring images.
Even though keratoconus’s development has been related to both genetic and environmental factors, the exact causes remain unclear.
Treatment for keratoconus depends on how severe the condition is. Glasses are often prescribed for mild to moderate cases, while contact lenses or even keratoplasty may be necessary for severe cases. Successful surgical therapeutic options include corneal cross-linking and intra-corneal ring segment implantation in addition to intra-ocular lens implantation and laser procedures (such as photorefractive keratectomy). The cornea is the target of these treatments. (50)
CXL increases the cornea’s biomechanical strength by using UVA to activate riboflavin, which subsequently builds covalent bonds between the collagen fibrils. The laser ablation performed during PRK/CXL surgery has two purposes: (1) it strengthens the cornea and (2) it prevents the progression of the disease, both of which lead to better vision in the long run.
The goal of this research was to evaluate the visual results of patients with early-stage keratoconus who had PRK and CXL without the use of topography.
Thirty-six eyes from 21 patients aged 18 to 40 with stage 1 or 2 keratoconus, contact lens intolerance, and corneal thickness of more than 400 m at the thinnest place were assessed in this prospective observational interventional non-comparative study. The research was intended to be descriptive rather than comparative in nature.
Results:
• Two patients with asthma (9.5% each), two patients with allergic rhinitis (9.5% each), and two patients with atopic dermatitis (9.5% each) were among the six patients (28.5%) who reported a medical history.
• Ten (47.5%) people had allergic conjunctivitis, and eleven (52.4%) had no prior ocular history, out of a total sample size of twenty.
• Not one of the eyes has undergone intraocular surgery before.
• There were 13 cases of vision loss (61.9%), 4 cases of itching (19%), 2 cases of light phobia (8.3%), and 2 cases of headaches (8.3%).
• Significant improvements in both uncorrected and corrected vision were seen 6 months following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) in patients compared to pre-surgery baselines (P 0.001). Both natural and corrected eyesight were similarly affected.
• PRK and CXL patients had significant improvements in their spherical and cylindrical refractive errors six months after surgery (P 0.001 for each comparison). The average sphere vision improvement after PRK and CXL was 1.86 diopters, the average cylinder improvement was 1.82 diopters, and the average astigmatism improvement was 1.29 diopters.
• After PRK and CXL, all assessed eyes showed significant reductions in K1, K2, KM, and Central corneal thickness (P0.001). After PRK and CXL, the average K1 value dropped from 1.55 to 2.06, the K2 value from 1.49 to 1.38, the KM value from 2.81 to 3.38, and the central corneal thickness from 37.67 to 15.79 microns. The central corneal thickness was reduced to get this result