Evaluating the safety and efficacy of epi-off corneal cross-linking in patients with thin corneas due to keratectasia

Abstract

Background: Corneal cross-linking (CXL) is a safe and effective procedure for slowing keratectasia progression in eyes with a corneal thickness of at least 400 µm. Limited research has evaluated the safety and efficacy of epi-off CXL in corneas thinner than 400 µm. Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of CXL to slow keratectasia progression in eyes with 1 D of K max steepening. No patients required keratoplasty and there were no cases of endothelial failure in the follow-up period. Conclusion: This research supports the safety and efficacy of epi-off, iso-osmolar CXL in eyes with <400 μm baseline corneal thickness with no patients requiring penetrating or endothelial keratoplasty, a trend toward improvement in BCVA, and K max flattening. In the future, prospective studies would be helpful to confirm these findings.