Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography In The Diagnosis And Monitoring Of Infectious Keratitis

To access the contribution of the anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in the diagnosis and monitoring of infectious keratitis.

Patients with infectious keratitis were included prospectively in the ophthalmology department of the Taher Sfar University Hospital in Mahdia, in the east of Tunisia, between January 2020 and December 2023.

Over the period of the study, 20 patients with corneal abscesses had pre- and post-therapeutic standardized scanning.  This exam measures the corneal thickness, size, and depth of the infiltrate before and after treatment. Therapeutic efficacity is judged on the improvement of edema and restitution or thinning of the corneal thickness.

the average age of the patients was 54 years old. Among the risk factors, surface pathology and blepharitis were found in 25% of cases, trauma from a plant agent in 20%, and wearing lenses in 20%. The abscess was bacterial in 25% of cases, herpetic viral in 30%, and mycotic in 25% of cases. SA-OCT shows a decrease in the infiltrate thickness in more than 50% of cases.  

AS-OCT quantifies the depth of the abscess and the exact thickness of the cornea, whether edematous or thinned, and evaluates his improvement in the follow-up of infectious keratitis in addition to slit-lamp examination.