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Pediatric keratoconus and iontophoretic corneal crosslinking: refractive and topographic evidence in patients underwent general and topical anesthesia, 18 months of follow-up

International Ophthalmology volume 36, pages 585–590 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

To evaluate the efficiency and safety of iontophoretic transepithelial corneal crosslinking in pediatric patients with progressive keratoconus underwent general or topical anesthesia in 18 months follow-up. 13 patients (13 eyes) diagnosed with progressive keratoconus underwent corneal CXL with iontophoresis (I-CXL). Riboflavin solution was administered by iontophoresis for 5 min, and then UV-A irradiation (10 mW/cm) was performed for 9 min. Preoperative and post-operative visits at 1, 6, 12, and 18 months assessed the following parameters: uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp biomicroscopy, corneal topography, optical tomography, and pachymetry with Pentacam (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany), endothelial biomicroscopy (Konan Specular Microscope; Konan Medical, Inc., Hyogo, Japan). The paired Student t test was used to compare data during the follow-up. 10 males and 3 females with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.7 years (range 11–18 years) were included. The results showed a stabilization of the refractive UCVA and BCVA as early as the first post-operative month, with a slight improvement over time. The Kmax remained stable throughout follow-up (p = 0.04). Transepithelial collagen crosslinking by iontophoresis, unlike other transepithelial techniques seems to halt pediatric keratoconus progression over 18 months. This is the second study evaluating CXL with iontophoresis in pediatric patients with progressive keratoconus with 18 months of follow-up using two different ways of anesthesia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Ophthalmology Department, University of Salerno, AOU “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Via San Leonardo, 1, Salerno, Italy

    Adriano Magli, Elisabetta Chiariello Vecchio & Roberta Carelli

  2. Pediatric Ophthalmology Department, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy

    Elena Piozzi

  3. Eye Department, AOU “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Via San Leonardo, 1, Salerno, Italy

    Felicia Di Landro & Salvatore Troisi

Authors
  1. Adriano Magli
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  2. Elisabetta Chiariello Vecchio
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  3. Roberta Carelli
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  4. Elena Piozzi
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  5. Felicia Di Landro
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  6. Salvatore Troisi
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Correspondence to Adriano Magli.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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The study was performed with informed consent and following all the guidelines for experimental investigations required by the Institutional Review Board or Ethics Committee of which all authors are affiliated.

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Magli, A., Chiariello Vecchio, E., Carelli, R. et al. Pediatric keratoconus and iontophoretic corneal crosslinking: refractive and topographic evidence in patients underwent general and topical anesthesia, 18 months of follow-up. Int Ophthalmol 36, 585–590 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-015-0166-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-015-0166-3

Keywords

  • Keratoconus
  • Crosslinking
  • Pediatric
  • Cornea