The disposable bandage soft contact lenses therapy and anterior segment optical coherence tomography for management of ocular graft-versus-host disease.

PURPOSE: To identify the ocular surface changes of ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and examine the efficacy of disposable bandage soft contact lens (BSCL) treatment in ocular GVHD patients. METHODS: This study is a prospective, Phase II clinical trial. Nineteen patients diagnosed with chronic GVHD based on the NIH criteria and ocular symptoms of NIH eye score 2 or greater were enrolled. Disposable BSCL was applied to the GVHD-affected eyes with topical antibiotic coverage. Ocular exams, eye symptom surveys, and AS-OCT were performed with signed informed consent. Patients were followed for one to three months. RESULTS: Thirty-eight eyes of 19 patients with ocular GVHD underwent BSCL treatment in this study. AS-OCT scans were done in 14 out of 19 patients. The mean best-corrected visual acuity at enrollment, 2-week, and 4-week visits was 0.180, 0.128, and 0.163 logMAR, respectively. Twenty-four out of 25 eyes (96 %) that initially presented with conjunctival inflammation, twenty-three out of 30 eyes (76.7 %) that initially presented with punctate epithelial erosion, and 8 out of 15 (53.3 %) eyes that initially presented with filamentous keratopathy showed improvement after wearing BSCL for 2 to 4 weeks. AS-OCT revealed corneal epithelial irregularity, abnormal meibomian gland orifice, and conjunctival hyperemia, in patients with ocular GVHD. CONCLUSIONS: BSCL treatment provided significant subjective and objective improvements in ocular GVHD patients. Meanwhile, we found that AS-OCT can be a promising diagnostic tool to characterize the ocular surface changes associated with ocular GVHD.

Iris rubeosis and hyphema caused by chemical injury due to household detergent.

We report an unusual case of iris rubeosis and hyphema caused by chemical injury due to household detergent. A 74-year-old man with a 15-year history of diabetes mellitus was refilling a container with household detergent at home. He splashed the detergent in his eyes. Slit-lamp examination revealed extensive epithelial damage to the left eye, leading to a persistent corneal epithelial defect. We used a bandage soft contact lens with levofloxacin eye drops as concomitant therapy in order to promote healing. However, a strain of fluoroquinolone-resistant Corynebacterium colonized the eye, so that the corneal ulcer eventually became severe. Use of the bandage soft contact lens was discontinued. His antimicrobial agent was changed to cefmenoxime, a drug to which fluoroquinolone-resistant Corynebacterium is sensitive, and topical instillation of autologous serum subsequently promoted improvement of the ulcer. On day 38 after injury, iris rubeosis led to hyphema and ghost cell glaucoma. With improvement of his corneal epithelial defect, the iris rubeosis and hyphema regressed and his visual acuity improved to 20/25 on the left eye. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a case resulting in severe complications due to chemical injury by a neutral detergent. Ophthalmologists should be aware that corneal epithelial damage may become prolonged in elderly patients with diabetes, and unexpectedly severe when wearing bandage soft contact lens, with infection of Corynebacterium resistant to fluoroquinolones, even if the chemical agent is a neutral detergent.