The relative risk for corneal transplantation after phacoemulsification was 68.2 times higher for patients with corneal guttata than that for those without, a recent study reported.

This registry-based, cohort study included 276,362 cataract patients and 2,091 patients who underwent corneal transplantation due to endothelial failure.

The researchers observed an incidence rate of corneal transplantation after phacoemulsification among patients with corneal guttata of 88 per 10,000 person years. They noted that the annual incidence rate was highest the first year and decreased with time. They found that cataract surgery in these patients was associated with corneal transplantation with an adjusted relative risk of 68.2.

The team added that the incidence rate of corneal transplantation among patients without corneal guttata was 1.4 per 10,000 person years.