Corneal biomechanical and anterior chamber parameters variations after 1-year of transepithelial corneal collagen Cross-linking in eyes of children with keratoconus

AIM: To assess the changes in corneal hysteresis (CH) and corneal resistance factor (CRF) 1-year following transepithelial corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) treatment in eyes of children with keratoconus. METHODS: This case series was conducted in 22 eyes of 22 children. Children aged < 18 years with progressive keratoconus were included. They were treated with transepithelial CXL. Corneal biomechanical and anterior chamber parameters such as CH, CRF, and peak 1 were noted using ocular response analyzer, Pentacam, intraocular lens master, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography before and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. RESULTS: Our series had 22 eyes of 22 children with a mean age 15.7 ± 2.1 years. The CH and CRF 1-year after treatment declined (difference of mean 0.1 mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04-0.24), P = 0.2] and (difference of mean 0.1 mmHg [95% CI 0.04-0.30], P = 0.3), respectively. Peak 1 and peak 2 increased (difference of mean 0.1 mmHg [95% CI 0.006-0.008], P = 0.2) and (difference of mean 0.1 mmHg [95% CI 0.007-0.006], P = 0.3), respectively. The uncorrected distance visual acuity improved from 0.95 ± 0.34 logMAR to 0.68 ± 0.45 logMAR (P < 0.05). No statistically significant changes during 12 months follow-up were observed in axial length, corneal volume, anterior chamber volume, and anterior chamber depth (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Transepithelial CXL in keratoconus in pediatric age group seems to have good stability in corneal biomechanical parameters after 1-year. Further studies with a larger sample and better study design are recommended to confirm our findings.