Corneal collagen cross-linking with riboflavin and ultraviolet-A light for keratoconus: Results in Indian eyes

AIM: To assess the results of corneal collagen cross-linking with riboflavin using ultraviolet-A light for keratoconus at one year in Indian eyes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-eight eyes of 41 patients with progressive keratoconus were included in this retrospective study. All eyes completed was 12 months of follow-up and 37 eyes had a one-year follow-up. The maximum follow-up was 16 months. Ocular examinations including refraction, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), corneal topography, were recorded at each visit. RESULTS: The mean age was 16.9 ± 3.5 years (range 12-39 years) and the mean follow-up was 10.05 ± 3.55 months (range six to 16 months). Thirty seven eyes with a follow-up of at least 12 months were analyzed. The preoperative values on the day of treatment were compared with postoperative values of the 12-month examination. This showed that BCVA improved at least one line in 54% (20/37) of eyes and remained stable in 28% (10/37) of eyes (P=0.006). Astigmatism decreased by a mean of 1.20 diopter (D) in 47% (17/37) of eyes (P=0.005) and remained stable (within ± 0.50 D) in 42% (15/37) of eyes. The K value of the apex decreased by a mean of 2.73 D in 66% (24/37) of eyes (P=0.004) and remained stable (within ± 0.50 D) in 22% (8/37) of eyes. The maximum K value decreased by a mean of 2.47 D in 54% (20/37) of eyes (P=0.004) and remained stable (within ± 0.50 D) in 38% (14/37) of eyes. Corneal Wavefront analysis revealed that spherical and higher-order aberrations did not show significant variations in the follow-up period. The coma component showed a very significant reduction at six months after treatment and persisted throughout the follow-up period (P=0.003) CONCLUSION: The results show a stabilization and improvement in keratoconus after collagen cross-linking in Indian eyes. This suggests that it is an effective treatment for progressive keratoconus.