Résumé : | SIGNIFICANCE: Corneal haze remains a frequent post-operative finding in patients undergoing corneal crosslinking. It has been shown that autologous serum tears promote epithelial healing and reduce post-operative pain;
however, the role in the prevention of corneal haze has not been reported.
PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the effect of autologous serum tears versus preservative-free artificial
tears on the prevention and resolution of post–cross-linking corneal haze.
METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a sample population from one surgeon at a tertiary eye
center from 2016 to 2019. Seventy-six eyes of consecutive patients who underwent cross-linking were included.
Records were reviewed for corneal Scheimpflug densitometry values and maximum keratometry, epithelial healing
time, and the use of either autologous serum tears or preservative-free artificial tears. Corneal densitometry values,
expressed in standardized grayscale units (GSU), were recorded for the anterior 150-μm corneal stroma and in the
0.0 to 2.0 mm and 2.0 to 6.0 mm zones.
RESULTS: Forty-four eyes received autologous serum tears, whereas 32 eyes received preservative-free artificial
tears. The baseline GSU of the anterior stromal 0 to 2 mm annulus and the 2 to 6 mm annulus did not significantly
differ between groups ( P = .50 and P = .40, respectively). There was a statistically significant increase in mean
GSU for both anterior 0 to 2 mm and 2 to 6 mm zones between baseline and 1 month ( P < .001) and 3 months
( P < .001). When comparing the two groups, no statistically significant difference was found post-operatively between the mean GSU at 1 month for the anterior 0 to 2 mm ( P = .38) nor the 2 to 6 mm zone ( P = .12), or for the
third month ( P = .60 and P = .44, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Using Scheimpflug densitometry, we did not find a significant difference in the post–crosslinking corneal haze at 1 and 3 post-operative months between patients who use autologous serum tears and those
who use preservative-free artificial tears. |