MICRO DIATHERMOCOAGULATION IN THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIOUS CORNEAL ULCERS

Abstract

Aim. To improve the treatment of early infectious corneal ulcers by combining microdiathermocoagulation (MDC), external autocytokinotherapy, and antiviral and/or antibacterial therapy. patients and methods. The study enrolled 2 groups of outpatients (a total of 112 patients, 112 eyes) who either showed no improvement or deteriorated under 7-day to 1.5-month therapeutic treatment. Group I included 70 patients (70 eyes) with superficial corneal ulcers due to herpes virus infection under antiviral therapy (instillations and periocular injections of Poludan (PolyA:PoliU) as well as Zovirax 3% ophthalmic ointment), group II — 42 patients (42 eyes) with early-stage purulent corneal ulcers under instillations of modern antibiotics (current-generation fluoroquinolones). results and discussion. The combination of MDC and external autocytokinotherapy is the most effective treatment for torpid herpetic ulcerative keratitis that allows a reliable reduction in the recovery period: from 24.1±2.2 days (therapeutic treatment only) down to 9.2±1.3 days (both methods plus antiviral therapy). Moreover, MDC is the treatment of choice in outpatients with purulent corneal ulcer in its early stage. The healing period in this case can be also reliably reduced (р<0.05) from 18.6±1.9 days (MDC plus antibacterial therapy). Hence, MDC is a highly effective urgent method of treatment available to ambulatory care patients with herpetic keratitis and early-stage purulent corneal ulcers. External autocytokinotherapy shows a pronounced anti-inflammatory and regenerative effect. When applied together, MDC and external autocytokinotherapy act synergistically and provide twice as short treatment periods. MDC as well as its combination with external autocytokinotherapy, if started early, allow to avoid keratoplasty in most patients with herpetic keratitis and early-stage purulent corneal ulcers.