Abstract
The Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy Study is a nine-center clinical trial of a surgical technique to reduce simple myopia by making incisions in the cornea. There were 435 patients (one eye per patient is reported) enrolled in the study with a 91% follow-up rate at 4 years after surgery. After surgery, uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 76% of eyes. Fifty-five percent of the eyes had a refractive error within ± 1.00 diopter; 28% were undercorrected, and 17% were overcorrected by more than 1.00 D. The width of the prediction 90% interval for the refractive change was 4.42 D, indicating a lack of predictability. The refractive error was not stable in some eyes; between 6 months and 4 years after surgery, 23% of eyes had a continued effect of the surgery of more than 1.00 D. For 323 patients with both eyes operated on, 64% stated they wore no optical correction. There were few serious complications. Eleven eyes (3%) lost two or three lines of best corrected visual acuity. Two eyes developed delayed bacterial keratitis without significant loss in best corrected visual acuity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1083-1091 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association |
Volume | 263 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 23 1990 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)