Results of the screening program for Fabry disease in patients with cornea verticillata at the University Hospital of Navarre

Abstract

Introduction: Cornea verticillata (CV) or vortex keratopathy is characterized by the presence of spiral-shaped deposits in the corneal epithelium. The most frequent causes are antimalarial drugs and amiodarone and, among systemic causes, Fabry disease (FD).

Material and methods: A multidisciplinary, prospective, descriptive study was conducted in a tertiary reference center in Spain's Autonomous Community of Navarre after the implementation of a FD screening program for patients attended to in the Ophthalmology Department. The study analyzed those diagnosed with CV, who were subsequently referred to the rare disease clinic of the University Hospital of Navarre's Internal Medicine Department for an FD study.

Results: Two women and four men with a mean age of 76.8 years were diagnosed with CV out of a total of 17,280 patients evaluated in outpatient consultations by three ophthalmology specialists during the period from April 2018 to April 2020. One patient died before performing the screening study and no patients were diagnosed with FD.

Conclusions: Despite the fact that the University Hospital of Navarre's FD screening program for patients with CV did not confirm any cases of FD, ophthalmology specialists should consider the possible diagnosis of FD in patients with CV in their routine consultations.

Keywords: Amiodarona; Amiodarone; Cornea verticillata; Cornea verticillate; Enfermedad de Fabry; Fabry disease; Queratopatía vortex; Vortex keratopathy.