ABSTRACT
To investigate the association between acute corneal hydrops in patients with keratoconus [KCN] and mitral valve prolapse [MVP]. This case-control study included KCN patients with corneal hydrops who were referred to Labbafinejad Medical Center or a collaborating private clinic from March 2006 to March 2008 as the case group. The control group included age- and sex-matched individuals who were selected from patients without any ophthalmic diseases among clients of the same medical centers. Patients with history of eye trauma, corneal degenerative diseases, rheumatic fever, Marfan syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematous were excluded. The size of the control group was four times that of the case group to increase the power of the study. All subjects were referred for cardiac examination and underwent two-dimensional M-mode and color Doppler echocardiography. Proloff's criteria were used for diagnosis of MVP. Fisher exact test and logistic regression were used to compare these two groups. Overall, 160 patients [32 cases and 128 controls] with mean age of 31.0 +/- 13.2 were studied. Prevalence of MVP was 65.6% in the case group and 9% in controls [P<0.001]. Patients with hydrops had an odds ratio of 26.7 for having MVP [95% confidence interval, 9.5-75.2]. Age- and sex-adjusted analysis revealed a higher correlation between the two conditions in the case group. There seems to be a correlation between corneal hydrops secondary to KCN and MVP suggesting the need for cardiovascular evaluation in these patients to assess mitral valve status