Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the effectiveness of Corneal Crosslinking (Riboflavin / UV-A) as a unique therapeutic in corneal infectious keratitis by Acanthamoeba
Methods: :
We inoculated and infected right corneas of 20 rabbits with a suspension of Acanthamoeba sp. They were divided into two groups: CXL: Crosslinking treatment was performed with Corneal and Control group received no treatment. The treatment was to removal of the central epithelium of the infected corneas, application of 0.1% Riboflavin 20% Dextran every 5 minutes for 60 minutes and during the last 30 minutes irradiation (UV 370 nm. 3mW/cm2 Energy) on the stromal bed. All eyes were evaluated clinically on the day of treatment, three and seven days post-treatment. On day 7 the eyes were enucleated and sent: 18 corneal buttons (9 in each group) for microbiological examination and 2 corneal buttons (1 for each group) for histopathological examination.
Results: :
Clinical assessment: The treated corneas had a higher score (3.48 ± 0.30) at the time of enucleation compared with control corneas (2.60 ± 0.26). This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.008). Microbiological analysis: It has found a higher count of Acanthamoeba sp in the corneas treated (2.86 ± 0.09) compared to control corneas (2.18 ± 0.07) that was statistically significant (p = 0.001).
Conclusions: :
Treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis by Corneal Crosslinking (Riboflavin / UV-A) did not prove effective in decreasing the intensity and severity of Acanthamoeba sp Keratitis .
Keywords: Acanthamoeba • antibiotics/antifungals/antiparasitics • pathology: experimental