Poor re-epithelialization following corneal collagen crosslinking with riboflavin-uva for advanced bullous keratopathy: Case series

OBJECTIVE

To assess safety and efficacy of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) for advanced bullous keratopathy (BK).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Eight eyes of eight patients subjected to Dresden CXL protocol.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

BK history of at least one year, severe pain and no indication for keratoplasty due to poor visual prognosis.

VARIABLES

best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), pain (decimal visual scale), central corneal thickness (CCT) by tomography (Pentacam®, Oculus Inc, Germany), corneal bullae and complications.

RESULTS

Seven women and one man of median age 77.00 (range 58-79) years. The median follow-up was 7 (range 5-7) months. BCVA remained unchanged through follow-up. A significant decrease in pain was observed at the end of the follow-up period (median 6, range 5-6 vs. median 0, range 0-4, P=0.05). Corneal tomography could only be performed in three cases, due to poor vision or image quality. A reduction in mean CCT was observed in the first post procedural month (from 708.33±140.48 to 627±136.89μm). In all eight cases, the absence of corneal bullae only persisted for two months after CXL. In six patients, corneal re-epithelialization after CXL was poor; in four of these eyes, the problem was resolved with topical treatment, but in the remaining two eyes, amniotic membrane transplant and mechanical debridement were required.

CONCLUSIONS

In this uncontrolled small case series, CXL treatment improved pain in patients with advanced BK. However, the high rate of poor re-epithelialization requiring surgical treatment observed in one third of cases makes this treatment controversial.

Corneal densitometry and topography in patients with primary congenital glaucoma

OBJECTIVE

To compare corneal densitometry and topography variables in patients with primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) and healthy subjects.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Cross sectional study, consecutive recruitment with gender- and age-matched control group. Forty eyes of 40 patients in each group were studied with Pentacam corneal topography. The variables compared between the two groups were: intraocular pressure (IOP), visual acuity (VA) and Pentacam (Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany) corneal topography measurements: mean and maximum keratometry (Km, Kmax), cylinder (Cyl), anterior elevation apex (AEA), central anterior elevation (CAE), maximum anterior elevation (MAE), posterior elevation apex (PEA), central posterior elevation (CPE), maximum posterior elevation (MPE), pachymetry and anterior, mid-stromal and posterior corneal densitometry in the 0-2mm, 2-6mm, 6-10mm zones.

RESULTS

Significant differences between patients and healthy controls were detected in the topographic variables MAE (P=0.002) and MPE (P<0.001), and in all the densitometry variables (anterior, mid-stromal, posterior for the 0-2mm, 2-6mm and 6-10mm zones) (P<0.001 each). In the PCG group, negative correlation was observed between VA and total densitometry (r=-0.49; P=0.004).

CONCLUSION

Patients with PCG and healthy subjects display differences in corneal densitometry and topographic measurements. PCG patients show greater corneal density with an inverse relationship between visual acuity and higher elevation (anterior and posterior values).

Oculomotor nerve palsy in herpes zoster ophthalmicus: Presentation of 4 cases

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection has a high prevalence worldwide. Within the multiple ophthalmologic manifestations that VZV can cause, sudden diplopia is among them. A review is presented of four clinical cases of 3rd and 4th oculomotor nerve palsies in herpes zoster ophthalmicus. A review is also presented of the physiopathology and most important clinical manifestations. Imaging tests are essential in order to rule out complications. Systemic antiviral administration is the correct treatment.

Confocal biomicroscopy in four patients with polychromatic corneal dystrophy

INTRODUCTION

Polychromatic corneal dystrophy is an unusual pre-descemet dystrophy, about which there are very few publications. The findings are presented in a case series of four patients with polychromatic corneal dystrophy, using a slit lamp, specular biomicroscopy, and confocal microcospy.

CLINICAL CASES

Four women, between 36 and 72 year-old, with the diagnosis of polychromatic corneal dystrophy in routine reviews. None reported visual symptoms or ocular history of interest. Anterior biomicroscopy showed multiple and small multicoloured brilliant opacities in the posterior area of the corneal stroma, with normal epithelium and anterior stroma. The opacities were bilateral and distributed throughout the entire cornea. Direct family members were examined, but none of them showed opacities. In the specular biomicroscopy, a normal endothelium, with pre-descemet hypereflective particles, was observed. With confocal microscopy, there were no abnormalities in epithelium, Bowman layer, or sub-basal nervous plexus. In two cases, the anterior stroma showed hyper-reflective keratocytes and with small hypereflective particles among them. In the middle stroma, hyper-reflective keratocytes were seen in the four cases, two of them showed tiny hypereflective particles, and in the other two there were abnormal keratocytes with prominent cytoplasmic processes. Posterior stroma in the four cases showed a lot of hypereflective keratocytes and hypereflective particles of different sizes. These particles prevented examining the endothelium.

CONCLUSIONS

Polychromatic corneal dystrophy has typical signs that allow it to be diagnosed and characterised. Although the biomicroscopy image only seems to show alterations in the posterior stroma, confocal microscopy shows that the dystrophy affects the entire corneal stroma.

Assessment of extraocular muscle thickness and correlation study using optical coherence tomography

OBJECTIVE

To report reference values for the horizontal rectus muscles thickness using Spectral Domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and to evaluate whether there are any correlations between the muscle thickness and gender, age, or axial length (AL).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 131 right eyes of healthy subjects. The gender and age were recorded, and axial length was measured using an optical biometer. The medial rectus (MR) muscle thickness was measured at 7.2 and 9.2mm from the limbus, and the lateral rectus (LR) at 8.5 and 10.5mm from the limbus using OCT. A multivariate model was adjusted to determine whether gender, age, and axial length could have an impact on the muscle thickness.

RESULTS

Mean age was 43.3±20.9 years (range 6-86), and 59% were women. Mean AL was 24.9±2.7mm (range: 20.4-33.8). Mean thickness was 188.5±51.2μm (range 69-342) for the LR at 8.5 and 186.5±45.9μm (range 75-269) at 10.5mm, and for the MR, 158.1±39.1μm (range 69-273) at 7.2mm and 193.7±55.9μm (range 105-386) at 9.2mm. A correlation was observed between the AL and MR thickness (R=-.255; P=.023) while no correlation was observed for the LR (P≥0.203). No correlations were found between thickness and gender or thickness and age (P≥0.125).

CONCLUSIONS

The reference ranges of the horizontal rectus muscles thickness was described using SD-OCT, observing an association between the AL and the MR thickness.