Effect of Head Trauma-Related Deaths on Corneal Endothelial Cell Loss in Eye Bank Donors.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of head trauma-related deaths on corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) in eye bank donors. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 287 corneas from donors with causes of death secondary to motor vehicle accident with sustained head trauma (n = 50), gunshot wound to the head (n = 138), fall with sustained head trauma (n = 2), and non-head-related traumatic causes of death (n = 97). Donors older than age 50 years were excluded due to concern for undiagnosed Fuchs endothelial dystrophy as a potential confounder for the cause of endothelial cell loss. Donor characteristics, ECD, and focal endothelial cell loss on specular microscopy were compared between the groups. Donors in the head trauma and nonhead trauma groups were matched by age; there were 42 age-matched donors in both groups. RESULTS: Age and ECD were negatively correlated (Pearson correlation coefficient = -0.57). Death-to-preservation time was not significantly different between the 2 groups ( P value = 0.59). The mean ECD in the head trauma group was 2859 ± 370 cells/mm 2 and 3041 ± 464 cells/mm 2 in the nonhead trauma group. The head trauma group had a lower ECD (178 ± 70 cells/mm 2 , P value = 0.013). After matching for age, the difference in ECD between the 2 groups was -94 ± 82 cells/mm 2 ( P value = 0.26). The adjusted odds of having focal endothelial cell loss was not statistically significant ( P value = 0.50) between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: After statistical adjustments, there were no differences between the head trauma and nonhead trauma groups.

Donor Diabetes Mellitus Severity and Corneal Transplant Suitability in a US Eye Bank Donor Population.

PURPOSE: To determine whether donor diabetes mellitus (DM) severity is associated with differences in endothelial cell density (ECD) and surgically unsuitable tissue. METHODS: Raw data were obtained from Saving Sight Eye Bank (Kansas City, MO) including 10,454 donated eyes from 5346 eligible donors from July 2014 through May 2017. Donors were grouped into 5 categories by their insulin use and the presence of microvascular end-organ complications. The categories were non-DM (NDM), noninsulin-dependent DM without complications (NIDDMnc), noninsulin-dependent DM with complication (NIDDMc), insulin-dependent DM without complications, and insulin-dependent DM with complication. Outcome variables included ECD and tissue transplant suitability. Mixed effects models were used to adjust for the random effect of repeated measures and fixed effects of donor age, race, lens status, and death to refrigeration and death to preservation times. Interaction effects of DM severity group and donor age and DM severity group and lens status were included in the models. RESULTS: One thousand six hundred eighty-four (32.1%) donors had a diagnosis of DM. Six hundred fifty-eight donors were in the NIDDMnc group, 225 in the NIDDMc group, 404 in the insulin-dependent DM without complication group, and 397 in the insulin-dependent DM with complication group. Compared with non-DM, donors with DM were older (P < 0.001) and more likely to be pseudophakic (P < 0.001). DM severity groups did not affect adjusted ECD at mean donor age. There was no statistically significant ECD interaction between DM severity group and lens status. There was a statistically significant ECD crossover interaction with NIDDMnc and donor age (P < 0.001). In phakic eyes, NIDDMc was associated with a statistically significantly lower odds of transplant suitability (odds ratio 0.62, P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: DM severity does not affect lowering adjusted ECD at mean donor age. DM severity and pseudophakia were not associated with lower adjusted ECD. NIDDMnc was associated with an attenuation of the age-dependent decrease in ECD. NIDDMc was associated with decreased transplant suitability in phakic eyes. Future studies should include age, lens status, and interaction effects in their models of ECD and transplant suitability.