Intraoperative corneal thickness measurement by optical coherence tomography in keratoconic patients undergoing corneal collagen cross-linking

To assess intraoperative variation of corneal thinnest point in keratoconic patients undergoing riboflavin/ultraviolet type A (UV-A) cross-linking treatment using noncontact time-domain optical pachymetry.

Prospective, noncomparative interventional study.

Ten patients underwent epithelium-off riboflavin/UV-A corneal cross-linking at Siena University Hospital; corneal thickness was measured using optical coherence tomography at the following times: preoperatively with epithelium on; after removal of a 9-mm-diameter disc of epithelium; immediately after instillation of 2 drops of riboflavin 0.1%-dextran T 500 20% solution; after repeated instillation of riboflavin 0.1%-dextran T 500 20% solution every 2.5 minutes, at 10, 20, and 30 minutes of soaking time; at the end of the treatment after 30 minutes of UV-A exposure with the riboflavin biofilm in situ; and finally after washing the riboflavin biofilm.

The most significant decrease in thinnest point measurement was detected meanly in the first 10 minutes of corneal soaking. In this interval, the minimum recommended in various studies, a mean reduction of -79.28 μm (-17.61% of initial thinnest point value after removal of the epithelium) was recorded. No adverse events were recorded.

The study demonstrates a statistically significant intraoperative reduction in corneal thinnest point value during epithelium-off cross-linking procedure using standard riboflavin 0.1%-dextran 20% solutions. Intraoperative optical pachymetry evaluation during cross-linking should be recommended before starting UV-A irradiation, and if a thickness under 380 μm is detected, the stroma should be reexpanded with hypotonic dextran-free riboflavin solutions.