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 CXL at the outpatient departments of the Institut für 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.