CSA eye drops potentially useful for SEI treatment after AK

Cyclosporine A (CSA) 1% eye drops could be an effective corticosteroid-sparing agent for treating symptomatic corneal subepithelial infiltrates (SEI) after adenoviral keraconjunctivitis (AK), claims a paper featured in Cornea.

A retrospective case series led by Dr Bennie Jeng, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA, included patients with symptomatic corneal SEI occurring after AK from 2 institutions. All patients were resistant to tapering of corticosteroid eye drops prior to administration of CSA drops.

Basic demographic data, involved eyes, duration of symptoms, initial best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), types of corticosteroid administered, clinical course and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity at the final follow-up visit.

Symptomatic SEI after AK, that was resistant to tapering but responsive to corticosteroid eye drops, was found in 12 eyes of 7 patients. The corticosteroid eye drops could be tapered after the administration of CSA eye drops.

It was found that all eyes could generally be maintained on CSA drops for once a day or less. However, the research suggests further study into the use of CSA drops in treating SEI.