Corneal Microstructural Changes by Confocal Microscopy in Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis Patients Treated with Topical Cyclosporine

Purpose: To compare corneal morphologic changes in vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) patients before and after treatment with topical cyclosporin (CsA). Methods: 23 VKC patients and 40 healthy subjects as controls were considered. All patients were treated with 1%CsA during their active phase. The impact of treatment on quality of life was evaluated administering the QUICK questionnaire. Both eyes were evaluated using the in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) before treatment (T-0), at the end of treatment in Autumn (T-1) and at the recurrence of symptoms in the next season (T-2). Results: All VKC patients improved their QUICK scores after CsA treatment. IVCM highlighted corneal microstructural changes at the level of epithelium, sub-basal nerve plexus and stroma in patients affected by VKC and allowed to follow their evolution after topical treatment with CsA. Conclusions: IVCM is a valuable tool to evaluate the dynamic corneal changes in VKC before and after treatment with CsA.

Automated summary

This study compared corneal morphologic changes in VKC patients before and after treatment with CsA, showing improvement in all patients' QUICK scores after treatment. IVCM revealed corneal microstructural changes and proved to be a valuable tool for evaluating treatment outcomes in VKC patients.