Berkay AKMAZ, Tuğçe HOROZOĞLU CERAN, İbrahim Ethem AY, Seray YÖRÜKOĞLU KAYABAŞ
Turkish Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - 2026;21(3):113-117
Purpose: To evaluate changes in visual acuity (V A) and vision-related quality of life following fitting with customized scleral lenses in patients with keratoconus. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 59 eyes from 39 patients with keratoconus who were fitted with customized Misa(R) scleral lenses. Uncorrected V A before fitting and V A with the final scleral lens were recorded in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) units, and keratometric measurements were expressed in diopters. Complete paired 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) data, collected during routine clinical care before fitting and 6-38 months thereafter, were available for 38 of 39 patients. Per-eye changes in logMAR V A were analyzed using an intercept-only linear model with robust standard errors clustered at the patient level, whereas patient-level NEI VFQ-25 total scores were compared using a paired-samples t test. Results: The mean age was 27.69 +/- 7.73 years, and 72.5% of patients were male. Mean uncorrected V A improved from 0.58 +/- 0.30 logMAR before fitting to 0.06 +/- 0.07 logMAR with the final scleral lens, corresponding to a mean improvement of 0.52 logMAR (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44-0.59; p < 0.001). The mean NEI VFQ-25 total score increased from 55.4 +/- 11.6 to 84.2 +/- 5.7, representing a mean increase of 28.8 points (95% CI, 25.5-32.1; p < 0.001). Conclusion: In this retrospective cohort, scleral lens fitting was associated with improved V A and higher NEI VFQ-25 total scores in patients with keratoconus. Prospective controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings.
