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Regenerative agent promotes healing after corneal cross-linking
Instillation of a new topical regenerative agent before contact lens fitting may be a promising new adjunct in the postoperative management of cross-linking patients, according to a study.
Regenerating Agent, or RGTA (Laboratoires Théa), is an ophthalmic solution indicated for the treatment of persistent epithelial defects and corneal dystrophies. It accelerates the healing processes by acting as a scaffold for the fixation of the components involved in the regeneration of corneal tissue.
Following accelerated cross-linking with riboflavin and UVA irradiation performed by the same surgeon, 60 eyes were randomized to two groups to receive or not receive one drop of RGTA in addition to the standard postoperative treatment, prior to contact lens fitting. Ocular pain or discomfort, photophobia, conjunctival hyperemia and corneal healing were evaluated in all participants on 3 consecutive days.
On the second day, 25 eyes (83.3%) treated with RGTA had complete corneal epithelial defect healing compared with four eyes (13.3%) in the control group. Ocular pain and discomfort such as burning, stinging and tearing were lower, photophobia was less, and conjunctival hyperemia was milder. The number of oral analgesics taken after the procedure was also significantly lower in the RGTA group.
The authors concluded that instillation of RGTA eye drops before contact lens fitting may be a promising new adjunct in the postoperative management of cross-linking patients by promoting epithelial healing, controlling inflammation and reducing ocular discomfort after epi-off cross-linking.
Further study is needed in longer and larger prospective trials, the authors noted. – by Michela Cimberle
Disclosure: The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the materials presented herein.
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Gumus K, et al. J Refract Surg. 2017;doi:10.3928/1081597X-20161206-07.