Incidence of Peters anomaly and congenital corneal opacities interfering with vision in the United States.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of Peters anomaly (PA) and congenital corneal opacities (CCO) interfering with vision in the United States.

METHODS: We collected data from the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration (Eye-Bank) in New York City, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDH), and the Pediatric Keratoplasty Association (PKA).

RESULTS: The EBAA data for 1996 and 1997 indicate that approximately 44,000 corneal transplants are performed annually. Of them, at least 128 are performed in infants, for various etiologies. A survey by the members of the PKA on 1995 showed that 65% of all grafts in infants are performed for PA. The NYSDH data from 1992 to 1997 indicate that the incidence of CCO interfering with vision was 2.2 infants per 100,000. Of those, PA accounted for 1.5 per 100,000. Eye-Bank data from 1988 to 1997 indicate that 12 children (1.1 per 100,000) received 23 transplants on 19 eyes for PA.

CONCLUSIONS: Combining the data from all 4 sources indicates that approximately 1 infant corneal transplant is performed for every 24,000 live births and most of all CCO interfering with vision is due to PA. Applying the NYSDH and Eye-Bank data to a national birth rate of 4 million, we would expect approximately 88 children born annually in the United States with CCO interfering with vision, with at least 44 to 60 being due to PA. Many of these children may require more than 1 transplant.