Corneal Disorders | 10 | Ophthalmic Epidemiology | Darren S. J. Ting,
角膜失明是全球第五大失明原因，特別影響資源不足國家的人口。沙眼和體内感染寄生蟲病是角膜失明的主要原因，但在最近幾年由於各種全球衛生計畫和倡議的成功實施，發生率已經大幅降低。感染性角膜炎和假體性水泡狀角膜病仍是發達國家和發展中國家的持續負擔，而眼乾症和新生兒眼炎是兒童角膜失明的最常見原因。考慮到角膜失明的全球負擔之重，急需創新和激進的措施。在過去的十年中，由於角膜移植登記、感染性角膜炎研究、基因組學研究和基因庫等資源的可用性，與角膜相關的大數據已經提高了許多角膜疾病的認識和治療效果，並促進了更有效的干預和有針對性的公共衛生資源規劃。此外，人工智慧和遠程醫療等數字創新已經展示了在實際世界設置中提高工作流效率的潛力。鑒於最近的進展，本章旨在概述角膜失明的全球負擔以及大數據和數字創新在未來轉化角膜疾病臨床方法中的潛在作用。
Corneal blindness is the fifth leading cause of blindness globally, particularly affecting the population in under-resourced countries. Trachoma and onchocerciasis represent the top causes of corneal blindness, but the incidence has significantly reduced in recent years following the successful implementation of various global health programs and initiatives. Infectious keratitis and pseudophakic bullous keratopathy remain a persistent burden in both developed and developing countries whereas xerophthalmia and ophthalmia neonatorum are the commonest causes of childhood corneal blindness. Given the immensity of the global burden secondary to corneal blindness, innovative and radical measures are urgently needed. In the past decade, cornea-related big data – enabled by the availability of corneal transplant registries, infectious keratitis studies, genomic studies, and gene banks – have improved the understanding and outcomes of many corneal diseases and facilitated more effective interventions and targeted public health resource planning. Moreover, digital innovations such as artificial intelligence and telemedicine have demonstrated their potential in improving the workflow efficiency in a real-world setting. In view of the recent advancements, this chapter aims to provide an overview of the global burden of corneal blindness and the potential roles of big data and digital innovations in transforming the clinical approach to corneal diseases in the future.