Assessing The Efficacy And Safety Of Oxygen-Enriched Rose Bengal And Green Light In Corneal Cross-Linking
Published 2025 - 43rd Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: FP19.11 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/04j9-vt71
Authors: Daniya Alturkistani 1 , Ahmed Mousa 2 , Saleh Al Obeidan* 3
1King's College Hospital London, Saudi Arabia,Jeddah,Saudi Arabia, 2King Khaled Eye Specialist and Research Center,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, 3Ophthalmology,King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia
Purpose
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of rose bengal and green light cross-linking (RGX) with supplemental oxygen.
Setting
Prospective animal studies
Methods
Rabbits were divided into three groups: Control group were de-epithelialized and served as controls; RGX-nO2 group were de-epithelialized, stained with 0.1% rose bengal (Rb) for 20 minutes and then exposed to green light at 0.25 W/cm2 for 10 minutes in an ambient atmospheric oxygen environment; RGX-hO2 group got the same treatment as Group 2, but supplemental oxygen was given to the ocular surface during irradiation. Central corneal thickness was measured at various points during RGX. After RGX, corneal microstructure, corneal biomechanics and resistance to enzyme lysis were evaluated.
Results
RGX-hO2 and RGX-nO2 significantly increased the corneal tensile strength by factors of 1.76 and 1.46, respectively. The times for complete corneal digestion of the RGX-hO2, RGX-nO2 and control groups were 23.2 ± 1.1 hours, 18.0 ± 2.0 hours and 8.4± 0.9 hours. The average collagen fibril diameter (43.58 ± 0.93 nm vs 40.46 ± 1.11 nm vs 35.25 ± 0.75 nm) and surface-to-surface spacing (11.67 ± 1.91 nm vs 15.51 ± 1.66 nm vs 24.93 ± 1.95 nm) also differed statistically among the three groups. No evidence of endothelial or stromal cell damage was detected by endothelial staining or TUNEL assay.
Conclusions
Increasing the concentration of oxygen during the irradiation process enhances the RGX efficacy without causing obvious damage to rabbit’s endothelium or stromal cells.