Patients with oGVHD face higher risk of ocular surface complications after cataract surgery
Patients with ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGVHD) experienced significantly higher rates of postoperative ocular surface complications following cataract surgery than both patients without graft-versus-host disease and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients with graft-versus-host disease but no ocular involvement, according to a study.
The findings also suggest that preoperative ocular surface optimization may reduce the risk of vision-threatening complications.
Researchers analyzed deidentified electronic health record data from 1,483 patients with oGVHD; 1,558 HSCT recipients with graft-versus-host disease without ocular involvement; and 693,399 control patients.
After propensity score matching, patients with oGVHD had a higher risk of vision-threatening corneal events than controls (P < 0.001) and the non-ocular GVHD HSCT group (P = 0.007).
Patients with oGVHD were also more likely to require escalation of ocular surface treatment after surgery, including additional medical therapy, amniotic membrane grafting, and tarsorrhaphy. These differences persisted through 1 year of follow-up.
The highest risk of vision-threatening corneal events was seen when ocular surface activity occurred within 30 days before surgery (P < 0.001).
In an exploratory analysis, preoperative ocular surface optimization was associated with a lower risk of vision-threatening corneal events (P = 0.042).
Reference
Shah J, Pathuri S, Golnik K, et al. The Ocular Surface Following Cataract Surgery in Ocular Graft-Versus-Host Disease: A Multicenter National Analysis. Cornea. 2026;doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000004227. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42447396.
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