Results Of Topical Insulin Treatment For Persistent Corneal Epithelial Defects

To evaluate the effects of topical insulin in patients with persistent corneal epithelial defects that are refractory to the standard treatment.

Between January 2024 and December 2024, patients with permanent epithelial defects after penetrating keratoplasty and who were started on topical insulin were retrospectively examined.

The study included 7 eyes of 7 patients with refractory persistent epithelial defects who were treated with topical insulin. The treatment was continued until the defect either was resolved or persisted after one months. The rate of epithelial healing was considered as the primary outcome measure.

Six of seven eyes (85.71 %) had complete improvement and only one patient did not respond to the treatment. The mean time of reepithelization for the eyes with full recovery was 6.45 days (ranging from 4 to 14 days) after topical insulin. There were no reports of complications or side effects during the period.

Our results suggest that topical insulin with its good safety profile could be a good therapeutic alternative for persistent epithelial defects.