A study to evaluate safety and efficacy of corneal collagen cross-linking with riboflavin in keratoconus patients

Introduction: Keratoconus is a disorder of progressive corneal steepening, resulting in cone shaped protrusion of cornea, corneal thinning, myopia and astigmatism. Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of corneal collagen cross-linking with Riboflavin in the management of keratoconus. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at an eye hospital over a period of 22 months to evaluate utility of corneal collagen cross-linking in treatment of keratoconus. Study group included 10 eyes (6 right and 4 left) of 8 patients (6 males and 2 females) with one year follow-up. Results: Mean age of study population was 24.25 years (SD=5.97; SE=2.11). The mean logMAR UCVA prior to CXL was 0.85 which improved to 0.57 at 12 months. Mean baseline BCVA was 0.464 logMAR, this improved to 0.170 logMAR at 12 months. At baseline a mean SimK astigmatism was 4.99 (SD= 2.56) and this decrease to 4.72 at 12 months. Conclusion: Present study showed improved visual acuity (both UCVA and BSCVA), stable topographic parameters, stable visual acuity and stable endothelial cell counts over a period of 12 months follow up, indicating that corneal collagen cross-linking with riboflavin is a safe and effective treatment option for keratoconus.