Topical Erythropoietin for Treatment of Scleral Necrosis

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To investigate the safety and efficacy of topical erythropoietin for the treatment of scleral necrosis.

Methods

This study enrolled eight consecutive patients with scleral necrosis due to previous ocular surgery, rheumatoid arthritis-associated necrotizing anterior scleritis, and thermal and chemical burns. Conventional treatments failed to heal avascular scleral lesions in all eyes. Patients were treated with topical erythropoietin (3000 IU/mL) four times a day.

Results

The mean patient age was 37.6 ± 15.5 years. The interval between the development of scleral necrosis and initiation of topical erythropoietin was 25.6 ± 12.0 days. The necrotic sclera completely healed within 31.9 ± 16.9 days in all patients. The avascular lesions did not recur, and there was no evidence of side effects during the study.

Conclusion

Our results showed that topical erythropoietin could be safely used to manage scleral necrosis. Randomized clinical trials are needed to further explore the efficacy of this intervention in patients with avascular scleral lesions.

KEYWORDS:

• scleral necrosis
• surgically-induced necrotizing scleritis
• necrotizing anterior scleritis
• chemical burns
• topical erythropoietin

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Financial disclosures

None of the authors has any financial disclosures in this study.

Additional information

Funding

There is no financial or proprietary interest on the part of the authors in any of the materials used in this manuscript. Institutional Review Board (IRB)/Ethics Committee approval was obtained.