Effect of topical corticosteroids on goblet-cell density in an alkali-burn model

Conjunctival alkali burns result in a loss of goblet cells in the acute postinjury period. A deficiency of goblet cells and their primary product, mucin, is associated with both short- and long-term ocular sequelas. We evaluated the effect of topical corticosteroids on goblet-cell density in a prospective, randomized, controlled trial using 24 eyes of 12 adult albino rabbits in which a standard conjunctival burn was made. The treatment group was found to have 97.38 goblet cells per unit area of conjunctiva; the control group had 65.81 goblet cells per unit area of conjunctiva. This was a statistically significant difference (P less than .02). These results suggest that topical steroids are beneficial in suppressing goblet-cell loss after a conjunctival alkali burn.