Allogeneic serum eye drops for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of allogeneic serum in the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect (PED).


METHODS
Thirty-six patients with PED whose autologous serum was unavailable or unsuitable for use were included in the study. Blood was obtained from the patients' family members who were healthy and had no history of hepatitis, bacteremia, or HIV. After standard serological testing used in blood transfusion, the allogeneic serum was prepared. The patients applied the serum eyedrops once every hour while awake and discontinued non-preservative artificial tears. If the epithelial defect was healing, the allogenic serum was gradually tapered. If the epithelial defect remained nearly the same size at day 14, amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) was performed.


RESULTS
Among the 36 patients, the epithelial defect healed in 6 patients (16.7%) within 1 week, in an additional 9 patients (25%) in 1-2 weeks, totaling 15 patients (41.7%) within 2 weeks. Twenty-one patients (58.3%) did not completely heal at the second week. Among these 21 patients, 10 (27.8%) underwent AMT and had subsequent healing of the epithelial defect, 8 completely healed within 1 month, and the remaining 3 healed within 2 months. None of the 36 patients reported any adverse events during therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
In patients for whom serum treatment is indicated but autologous serum is unavailable or unsuitable for use, allogeneic serum offers an alternative option for therapy.
Chiang
C-C
CC
Department of Ophthalmology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Chen
W-L
WL
Lin
J-M
JM
Tsai
Y-Y
YY
D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating / Q000009:adverse effects; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D044967:Serum; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing
D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions