Functional results after transepithelial CXL showed keratoconus instability, in particular in pediatric patients 18 years old and younger; there was also functional regression in patients between 19 years and 26 years old after 24 months of follow-up. mentioned.
Purpose. To compare functional results in two cohorts of patients undergoing epithelium-off pulsed (pl-ACXL) and continuous light accelerated corneal collagen crosslinking (cl-ACXL) with dextran-free riboflavin solution and high-fluence ultraviolet A irradiation. Design. It is a prospective, comparative, and interventional clinical study. Methods. 20 patients affected by progressive keratoconus were enrolled in the study. 10 eyes of 10 patients underwent an epithelium-off pl-ACXL by the KXL UV-A source (Avedro Inc., Waltham, MS, USA) with 8 minutes (1 sec. on/1 sec. off) of UV-A exposure at 30 mW/cm2 and energy dose of 7.2 J/cm2; 10 eyes of 10 patients underwent an epithelium-off cl-ACXL at 30 mW/cm2 for 4 minutes. Riboflavin 0.1% dextran-free solution was used for a 10-minutes corneal soaking. Patients underwent clinical examination of uncorrected distance visual acuity and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA and CDVA), corneal topography and aberrometry (CSO EyeTop, Florence, Italy), corneal OCT optical pachymetry (Cirrus OCT, Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany), endothelial cells count (I-Conan Non Co Robot), and in vivo scanning laser confocal microscopy (Heidelberg, Germany) at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. Results. Functional results one year after cl-ACXL and pl-ACXL demonstrated keratoconus stability in both groups. Functional outcomes were found to be better in epithelium-off pulsed light accelerated treatment together with showing a deeper stromal penetration. No endothelial damage was recorded during the follow-up in both groups. Conclusions. The study confirmed that oxygen represents the main driver of collagen crosslinking reaction. Pulsed light treatment optimized intraoperative oxygen availability improving postoperative functional outcomes compared with continuous light treatment.
Purpose: To investigate the correlations between corneal structural modifications assessed by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy with visual function [uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA)] and morphological data (corneal topography, pachymetry, elevation analysis) after ribofla-vin UV A corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) for the stabilization of progressive keratoconus. Methods: Forty-four eyes with progressive keratoconus were enrolled in the Siena Eye Cross Study (prospective nonrandomized phase II open trial). All eyes underwent Riboflavin UV A CXL. Preoperative and postoperative evaluation comprised: UCVA, BSCVA, optical pachymetry (Visante OCT, Zeiss, Germany), corneal topography (CSO, Florence, Italy) and tomography (Orbscan IIz; B&L, Rochester, NY, USA) and in vivo confocal microscopy (Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II; Rostock, Heidel-berg Gmbh, Germany). Examinations were performed preoperatively 6 months and one day before treatment and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Results: In vivo corneal confocal microscopy showed time-dependent postoperative epithelial and stromal modifications after cross-linking. Epithelial thinning associated with stromal oedema and keratocytes apoptosis explained initial tendency towards slightly reduced VA and more glare one month postoperatively in 70% of eyes. Furthermore , a statistically not significant early worsening of topographic mean K values was observed. Orbscan II analysis significantly underestimated pachymetric values after treatment. Pachymetric underestimation was rectified by high-resolution optical pachymetry provided by the Visante OCT system. After the third post-CXL month, epithelial thickening, disappearance of oedema and new collagen compaction recorded by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy explained the improvements in visual performance during the follow-up. Changes in stromal reflectivity and collagen compaction observed by in vivo confocal microscopy were associated with corneal flattening and reduction in anterior elevation values recorded by differential topographic analysis. Conclusion: Corneal structural changes assessed by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy demonstrated significant correlations with visual function (UCVA and BSCVA) and morphological (corneal topography, pachymetry, elevation analysis) findings recorded after riboflavin-UV A-induced CXL.
In vivo confocal analysis of corneal modifications induced by TE CXL showed a limited apoptotic affect of this treatment, about one-third of classic epi-off crosslinking procedure. The TE CXL respected sub-basal and anterior stroma nerve fibers, resulting safe for corneal endothelium. According to limited penetration, its mid- to long-term efficacy needs to be determined in different clinical settings related to patient age and keratoconus progression.
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