Risk factors for pterygium recurrence based on a retrospective study of 196 patients

Pterygium is considered as important clinical problem due to its special characteristics such as high incidence, multi-factorial disorder and high recurrence rate. The purpose of this study is to identify the postoperative recurrence rate of pterygium and examine the association between systemic inflammation and the type of pterygium and pterygium recurrence. From January 2017 to January 2018, a total of 196 pterygium patients who received surgery were included in this study. Demographic and clinical data were available and extracted from the ongoing clinic records and interviews. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate recurrence over time, univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis were applied to identify the variables that may affect the recurrence after pterygium surgery. All enrolled patients were routinely followed up for average of 24.78 ± 6.08 months, among them, 15 patients (7.65%) presented with recurrence following resection surgery. Multivariate analysis showed that recurrence was significantly associated with neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (odds ratio [OR] 4.35, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-16.61, P = 0.03) and pterygium grade (OR: 6.08, 95% CI, 1.52-24.31, P = 0.01) . The postoperative recurrence rate of recurrent pterygium was 7.65%. The preoperative NLR and pterygium grade were significantly associated with recurrence. This study brings potential future benefits to patients selection outcome prediction and improving long-term care strategies.