XXXX -assisted photorefractive keratectomy in high @entity1714 : a long-term safety study.

@entity1 @entity1138 @entity1139 @entity2687 @entity1714
PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term corneal safety of topical @entity1138 ( @entity1139 ) used during photorefractive keratectomy to prevent haze formation in highly myopic eyes. METHODS: Twenty-eight @entity1 with bilateral high @entity1714 underwent photorefractive keratectomy. One eye was randomly assigned to intraoperative 0.02% @entity1139 and the fellow eye to conventional treatment. Each eye was checked at baseline and at 5 years after surgery using in vivo corneal confocal microscopy. RESULTS: At baseline, the endothelial cell density was 2970    295 cells per square millimeter in the @entity1139 -treated eyes and 2839    323 cells per square millimeter in the control eyes. At 5 years, it was 2803    307 and 2780    264 cells per square millimeter, respectively (P = 0.27). The number of @entity2687 fibers was 3.9    1.6 in the @entity1139 -treated eyes and 4.4    1.3 in the control eyes. At 5 years, it was 3.0    1.6 and 2.7    1.3, respectively (P = 0.15). The density of corneal nerves was 9600    2915  m/mm(2) in the @entity1139 -treated eyes and 11,352    3898  m/mm(2) in the control eyes. At 5 years, the density was higher in the @entity1139 -treated eyes (6790    2447  m/mm(2)) than in the control eyes (6024    2977  m/mm(2)) (P = 0.003). The number of nerve beadings at baseline was 12.9    1.7/100  m in the @entity1139 -treated eyes and 12.3    2.0/100  m in the control eyes. At 5 years, it was 9.9    2.6/100 and 9.4    2.9/100  m, respectively (P = 1.00). At 5 years, @entity2687 branching and tortuosity were similar in the 2 groups (P = 0.88 and 0.54, respectively). Epithelium thickness remained statistically unchanged (P = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative use of topical 0.02% @entity1139 compared with standard treatment does not induce significant long-term corneal changes, as assessed by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy.
