title: Epidemiological Profile of Patients Undergoing Urgent Corneal Transplant in a Referral Center in Northeastern Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of the study was to characterize the epidemiological profile and average time on the waiting list of patients undergoing an urgent corneal transplantation (CT) in a referral center in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study included cases of urgent corneal transplants performed in a referral center from January 2010 to December 2014. Data were collected between January and March 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-four cases of emergency CT were analyzed. Of these, 69.4% were male, over the age range from 8 to 92 years. There were 38 transplants occurring in the right eye, 55.4% with tectonic purpose, 25.7% with optical purpose, and 18.9% therapy purpose. The main indications for patient inclusion in an emergency were the perforation (52.7%) and corneal ulcer unresponsive to medical treatment (33.8%). Interstitial keratitis was the most common diagnosis (74.3%), responsible for all prioritized cases in line for corneal ulcer unresponsive to treatment. The average length of the waiting line to perform the urgent CT was 9.03 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, there was a predominance of male patients and patients >50 years old, which corroborates the results of other studies with similar results. Perforation was the main indication to include the patient on the urgency list (52.7%). There is a need for further research to improve public health policies on the process of corneal transplantation as well as raising awareness of the importance of organ donation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil. Electronic address: giovannakarinny@gmail.com.
authors.forename: G K P
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: de Azevedo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: D P S R P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Meireles
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: M A F
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Júnior
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Vitor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult