早期圆锥角膜的诊断技术研究进展

早期圆锥角膜(keratoconus,KC)的诊断有助于在患者出现典型临床症状之前识别需要监测的患者。及时干预患者的病情进展并改善患者的长期预后,对预防医源性角膜扩张和减轻角膜移植负担至关重要。早期KC的诊断技术种类繁多,包括角膜地形图、角膜像差、角膜上皮和全层厚度测量、角膜共聚焦显微镜、角膜生物力学测量和基因检测等。由于单用一种技术往往难以获得足够的敏感度和特异度,因此,使用多种评估技术有助于更为全面地评估角膜,这将成为今后早期KC诊断的发展趋势。

Research progress on the diagnostic techniques of early keratoconus

Diagnosis of early keratoconus(KC)contributes to identifying potential patients before typical clinical symptoms. It also contributes to timely intervention of the progress of disease and improvement of long-term prognosis. Hence, it is crucial to prevent iatrogenic corneal ectasia and reduce the burden of keratoplasty. There are diverse kinds of early KC diagnosis techniques, including corneal topography, corneal aberrations, epithelial and corneal thickness measurement, corneal confocal microscopy, corneal biomechanics, and genetic examination. Since it is often difficult to ensure sufficient sensitivity and specificity with single technique, multiple techniques are beneficial to evaluate the cornea comprehensively, which may become the development tendency of early KC diagnosis in the future.