Topical urea as a treatment for non-infectious keratopathy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate topical urea ophthalmic ointment as an agent to promote epithelial healing. Corneal epitheliopathy and epithelial defects were chemically induced in rabbits. Urea ophthalmic ointment was administered to one eye and control ointment to the fellow eye. The rabbits were examined by a masked observer for eleven days and points were awarded for steps of improvement in their ocular surface disease. The eyes receiving the urea ointment improved an average of 5.73 points while the control eyes improved 4.2 points (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, topical urea dissolved in a bland ointment encourages corneal reepithelialization and limits epithelial damage after toxic injury to corneal epithelium.