Clinical Investigation of the Safety and Efficacy of Low-temperature Plasma as an Adjuvant Treatment for Mild to Moderate Fungal Keratitis: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This pilot study assessed the safety and efficacy of low-temperature plasma (LTP) as an adjuvant treatment for mild to moderate fungal keratitis (FK).

Methods

Thirty FK patients were randomized into LTP (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. Patients were followed up for 3 months. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ulcer size, and hypopyon height were measured; healing time or complications were documented and compared.

Results

More patients in the LTP group healed completely (11/15 in 48 days) compared with the control group (4/15 in 59.5 days), and those patients had a deeper initial ulcer depth and exhibited better BCVA improvements. Four patients failed after LTP treatment due to perforation, increased inflammatory infiltration, or hypopyon; those with more hypopyon were more likely to fail.

Conclusions

LTP could be a promising adjuvant therapy to topical antifungal drugs for mild to moderate FK.

KEYWORDS:

• Adjuvant treatment
• efficacy
• fungal keratitis
• low-temperature plasma
• safety

Data availability

All data during the study appear in the submitted article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website

Additional information

Funding

This research supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81970766 and 82171102), the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning, the Shanghai Innovation Development Program (2020-RGZN-02033), and the Shanghai Key Clinical Research Program (SHDC2020CR3052B). The sponsors or funding organizations had no role in the design or conduct of this research.