Surgical-glove-related diffuse lamellar keratitis after laser in situ keratomileusis: long-term outcomes

PURPOSE: To study the long-term refractive results in eyes that developed surgical-glove-related diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Provincial, Toledo, Spain. METHODS: This retrospective review analyzed an epidemic of surgical-glove-related DLK over a 5-month period at a single hospital. Twenty-four eyes (24 patients) that developed DLK (DLK group) were compared to 30 eyes (30 consecutive patients) that had surgery during the same time but had an uneventful postoperative course (control group). Follow-up was 12 months in all cases. RESULTS: Twelve months after LASIK, the mean spherical equivalent was 0.14 diopter (D) +/- 0.36 (SD) in the DLK group and -0.07 +/- 0.33 D in the control group (P=.03). The mean uncorrected visual acuity was 0.91 +/- 0.18 and 0.90 +/- 0.17, respectively (P = .81). The mean best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) was 0.97 +/- 0.08 in the DLK group and 0.99 +/- 0.06 in the control group (P = .42). At 1 year, 91.7% of eyes in the DLK group and 93.3% of eyes in the control group were within +/-0.50 D of the attempted correction (P = .82). The BSCVA was 1.0 or better in 87.5% and 93.3%, respectively (P =.46). CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of glove-related DLK provided visual outcomes that were similar to those in eyes with an uneventful postoperative course. These good results are consistent with those in studies of classic DLK.