Screening for keratoconus among students in a medical college in South India: A pilot study

Objective: To study the prevalence of keratoconus among college students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Three hundred and eighty-six medical undergraduate students studying in the medical college were recruited for the study after excluding the subjects who had other ocular pathology causing reduced vision or who had undergone surgery other than for keratoconus. Methods: Relevant history, visual acuity, keratometry, and corneal topography were done using the Tomey-topographic modelling system. Main Outcome Measures: KCI, KSI and Kmax were used to identify keratoconus (KCI >5% or KSI >30%) and keratoconus suspects (KSI >15% or Kmax >47.2D, who do not meet the criteria for keratoconus). Results: In our study, 15 participants (3.9%) had keratoconus and 20 (5.2%) participants were labelled keratoconus suspect. Conclusion: With the higher prevalence and younger age of presentation for keratoconus in India, topographical screening for keratoconus is being suggested to be done in the college-age group who do not achieve 6/6 as best-corrected visual acuity despite looking normal in clinical examination. This will aid in early detection and better management.