Standard Corneal Collagen Crosslinking Versus Transepithelial Corneal Crosslinking by Iontophoresis of Riboflavin
Keratoconus
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Keratoconus focused on measuring Collagen crosslinking (CXL), Standard corneal crosslinking (CXL), Transepithelial CXL, Iontophoresis, Riboflavin
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Documented progressive KC (by Pentacam and/or corneal topography imaging).
- A clear central cornea.
- A minimal corneal thickness of ≥ 400 µm at the thinnest corneal location (Pentacam imaging).
- Minimal Snellen corrected distance visual acuity of ≥ 0.4.
- Patient age of ≥ 18 years.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Corneal scarring.
- History of epithelial healing problems.
- History or presence of ocular infection (such as herpes keratitis)
- Pregnancy and/or breastfeeding.
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Active Comparator
Experimental
Standard epithelium-off CXL
Transepithelial CXL via iontophoresis of riboflavin
Removing the central 8-10mm of the epithelium and applying a riboflavin solution (0.1% riboflavin-5-phosphate and 20% dextran T-500) to the corneal surface 30 minutes before irradiation and at 5 minutes intervals during the course of a 30 minute exposure to 370 nm UVA with an irradiance of 3 mWcm-2 (UFalink, Russian Federation)
impregnation of the cornea with a riboflavin 0.1% hypotonic solution is performed by using an iontophoresis device (galvanizator; Potok-1, Russian Federation). The passive electrode (anode) was applied to the inferior part of the cervical vertebrae. The active electrode (cathode), a bath tube (glass or plastic - 10-12 ml) is applied to the open eye,then r the tube is taped to the skin of the orbital margins and filled with riboflavin 0.1%. The current intensity is initially 0.2 mA and then gradually increased to 1.0 mA at 0.2 mA for 1 minute at 10-second intervals increments to determine individual tolerance. The total time that the riboflavin administration is 10 minutes. Standard surface UVA irradiation (370 nm, 3 mW/cm2) using UFalink device, (Russian Federation) is then applied at a 5-cm distance for 30 minutes with continuing hypotonic riboflavin drops every 2 minutes