the results of cross-linking with riboflavin/uv-a in patients with progressive keratoconus

Objective: To evaluate the results of corneal cross-link­ing with UV-A/riboflavin in patients with progressive kera­toconus. Methods: Forty-seven eyes of 30 patients with progres­sive keratoconus (16 female, 14 male) were included in the study. Uncorrected and the best corrected distance visual acuities, biomicroscopic findings, intraocular pres­sure measurements, fundoscopic findings, pachymetric measurements and corneal topography parameters were recorded for each patient. Results: The mean age of the patients was 18.3±5.34 (range: 8-31) years and the mean follow-up duration was 7±2.4 (range: 3-12) months. Following the procedure, the mean decrease in K1, K2, Kav, spherical and cylindri­cal values were 0.77 D, 0.85 D, 0.80 D, 0.50 D and 0.74 D, respectively (p<0.05). There were no cases with de­crease in visual acuity and significant complication during or after the treatment. Conclusion: Cross-linking with riboflavin/UV-A in patients with progressive keratoconus is an effective procedure. In addition, the preservation of visual acuity and not seen a significant complication indicate that a safe metod. How­ever, large prospective randomized controlled studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effects of this treatment.