Variation in Central Corneal Thickness During Riboflavin Instillation in Corneal CLX With Open or Closed Eyes
Narrative Responses:
Purpose
To assess the effect of having an open or closed eye on the variation in central corneal thickness during riboflavin instillation in corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL).
Methods
Thirty eyes of 15 New Zealand White rabbits in vivo had an anterior segment Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) examination at 0 min, 10 min, 20 min, and 30 min after riboflavin instillation on the de-epithelialized corneal surface. Each eye of every rabbit was randomly placed into one of two different treatment groups (open-eye or closed-eye) during the instillation; the examinations were performed one after the other. After instillation for 30 min, the changes in the corneal stroma and anterior chamber were observed by slit lamp.
Results
A significant decrease in the central corneal thickness (CCT) was demonstrated during riboflavin instillation; the variations in the measurements performed with the eye closed were smaller than those performed with the eye open (81.36 ± 15.13 um and 129.20 ± 12.05 um respectively). Meanwhile, both methods turned the corneal stroma and anterior chamber yellow.
Conclusion
While keeping the eye closed during riboflavin instillation, we found that the decrease in the CCT was smaller, the same yellow change in the corneal stroma and anterior chamber occurred, and the exposure time of the ocular surface was shorter.