Keratoconus: Using a keratoconus registry data base and evaluation of the German version of a validated keratoconus questionnaire (KORQ)

Keratoconus is a corneal disorder where the paracentral (and central) cornea undergoes progressive thinning and steepening causing irregular astigmatism. Treatment of keratoconus depends on the stage of the disease: in a stable keratoconus contact lenses could be sufficient, whereas in the case of progression cross linking is recommended and in severe cases corneal surgery is required. However, knowledge concerning long-term progression/ stability after treatment is lacking and many studies involved only small samples. To observe a large number of patients a worldwide keratoconus registry is necessary, and one of this registries is the Fight Corneal Blindness registry. Due to the fact that there is no specific questionnaire available in German, we would like to translate and validate the Keratoconus Outcomes Research Questionnaire (KORQ).