Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To study the epidemiology and management of recurrent corneal erosion syndrome. Methods: Data was collected on 259 cases of recurrent corneal erosion syndrome, which were treated at the Duke University Eye Center from 1982-2002. Patient information including gender, age, etiology of recurrent corneal erosion, type and length of treatment, and history of recurrence was recorded. The types of treatment were categorized as conservative, which included topical medication, bandage contact lens, patching, or surgical which included procedures such as anterior stromal puncture, or phototherapeutic keratectomy. Recurrence was defined as a patient who continued to have erosive episodes either while on therapy or after having completed therapy. Results: Of the reviewed patients, 158 (61%) were women and 101 (39.0%) were men. The average age of patients was 49 years old. The most common reasons for recurrent corneal erosion were trauma (68.7%), followed by map-dot-fingerprint corneal dystrophy (19.7%), and other (11.6%). After initial presentation, 64.9% of patients responded to conservative topical medications. Of the patients that initially failed conservative therapy 34 (37.4%) underwent surgical intervention, including 22 with anterior stromal puncture and 10 with phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK). Conclusions: In this study, trauma was the most common etiology of recurrent corneal erosion syndrome. Most patients responded to conservative treatment. Although surgical intervention was relatively rare, it was effective.
Keywords: cornea: clinical science • cornea: epithelium