Abstract
Purpose :
Recurrent corneal erosion is a common condition in clinical practice. Cryopreserved amnion tissue (CAM) is increasingly used in clinical ophthalmic practice for a variety of conditions. At present, no comparative studies examining outcomes for treatment of recurrent corneal erosion (RCE) utilizing bandage contact lens (BCL) versus CAM exist. This case series attempts to examine whether the recurrence rate of RCE treated by bandage contact lens alone (BCLA), epithelial debridement plus BCL (ED+BCL), or epithelial debridement plus CAM (ED+CAM) differs.
Methods :
44 eyes of 44 patients treated for RCE at a single site were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with less than 3 months follow up or who received treatment methods other than those studied were excluded. Outcomes were examined between BCLA group (n=5, males=3, mean age=51.6 years), ED+BCL group (n=5, males=1, mean age=48.2) and ED+CAM group (n=6, males=0, average age=60.33 years) for incidence of recurrence (defined as patient description of an incident of pain, or visible epithelial slough on examination), and post-treatment haze.
Results :
In the BCLA group, average follow up period was 37.6mo (range 8–84mo). Recurrence occurred in 4 patients (80%). Average time to recurrence was 2.44mo (range 0.25-8mo). In the ED+BCL group, average follow up period was 41.2mo (range 34-50mo). Recurrence occurred in 2 patients (40%), with average time of 11.25mo (range 0.5-22mo). In the ED+CAM group, average follow-up period was 7.5mo (range 3–13mo). Although the follow up period in the ED+CAM was shorter, no recurrence occurred, and was comparable to mean time of recurrence across all groups (5.375mo). Corneal haze was noted in one patient in the ED+BCL group (20%) and one patient in the ED+CAM group (16.6%).
Conclusions :
Compared to bandage contact lens alone, ED+BCL and ED+CAM reduced rate of recurrence. No patients in the ED+CAM group experienced signs or symptoms of recurrent erosion during their follow up period. Based on our results, addition of cryopreserved amniotic membrane to epithelial debridement enhanced treatment and reduced recurrence of RCE. Incidence of haze was similar between ED+BCL and ED+CAM groups. Further studies using larger numbers of patients are warranted.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.