Ultraviolet A/riboflavin corneal cross-linking for infectious keratitis associated with corneal melts

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of ultraviolet-corneal cross-linking (CXL) for treating infectious melting keratitis. Methods: Five patients with infectious keratitis associated with corneal melting were treated with CYCL at the outpatient departments of the Institut fur Refraktive und Ophthalmo-Chirurgie and the eye hospital at the University of Zurich. CXL was performed when the infection did not respond to systemic and topical antibiotic therapy. Follow-up after cross-linking ranged from 1 to 9 months. Results: In all cases, the progression of corneal melting was halted after CXL treatment. Emergency keratoplasty was not necessary in any of the 5 cases presented. Conclusions: CXL is a promising option for treating patients with therapy-refractory infectious keratitis to avoid emergency keratoplasty.