Association Between Intracellular Dark Spots on Specular Microscopy and Endothelial Cell Loss After Penetrating Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To investigate the incidence and clinical implications of intracellular dark endothelial spots (IDES) following penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and their association with endothelial cell density (ECD) loss and graft failure.

Design: Retrospective clinical cohort study.

Methods: This study included 71 eyes that underwent PK and 33 control eyes that underwent cataract surgery. We evaluated the presence of IDES on specular microscopy, ECD, preoperative aqueous humor (AqH) protein and cytokine levels using Luminex. Follow-up examinations were conducted for 36 months postoperatively. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify clinical risk factors for IDES development and graft survival.

Results: IDES developed in 40 PK eyes (56.3%). IDES was associated with exhibiting significantly lower ECD at all postoperative stages (P < .001) and higher secondary graft failure rates compared to IDES-negative eyes (P = .014). Risk factors for IDES development after PK included the presence of an intraocular lens (P = .028), multiple previous intraocular surgeries (P = .0076), and lower preoperative donor ECD (P = .004). IDES-positive eyes with an ECD decrease of more than 50% within 12 months postoperatively had significantly higher preoperative AqH protein levels compared to those without such a decrease (P = .031). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a higher rate of graft failure in IDES-positive eyes compared to those without (P = .014).

Conclusions: The development of IDES after PK appears to be associated with higher ECD loss and graft failure, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for endothelial cell loss and graft prognosis.