Success In The Treatment Of Challenging Cases With Umbilical Cord Eye Drops

Published 2022 - 40th Congress of the ESCRS

Reference: FPS06.05 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/6vzv-ed27

Authors: SARA MARTIN NALDA* ¹ , LAIA BISBE LOPEZ ¹ , JAVIER JOSE PUIG GALY ¹ , ALFREDO PUEYO FERRER ¹ , DAVID OLIVER GUTIERREZ ¹ , ELENA ROS SANCHEZ ¹ , DINARA SAMARKANOVA ²

¹OPHTHALMOLOGY,VALL D´HEBRON HOSPITAL,BARCELONA,Spain, ²MEDICINE,BLOOD AND TISSUE BANK (BST),BARCELONA,Spain

Purpose

In daily clinical practice we treat patients with pathologies that seriously affect the ocular surface and threaten visual acuity. A rapid treatment is necessary to help the epithelialization and regeneration of the ocular surface and reduce inflammation.

Previous studies have described the therapeutic effects of Umbilical cord blood eye drops (CBED) on ocular surface. They have unique biological characteristics including key growth factors and anti-inflammatory molecules. Also is readily available thanks to Barcelona Blood and Tissue Bank (BST).

Our purpose is to report six cases succesfully management with CBED associated to habitual treatment

Setting

Vall d´Hebron Hospital. Ophthalmology unit

Barcelona blood and tissue bank

Methods

We present the case of 6 patients with different serious pathologies of the ocular surface: 3 Toxic epidermal necrolysis (NET), 1 cicatricial ocular pemphigoid. 1 ocular chemical burn and 1 neurotrophic ulcer.

The 3 NET patients required admission to the intensive care unit and autologous serum eye-drop preparations were not feasible.

We used autologous serum eye drops in the case of cicatricial ocular pemphigoid but it did not work.

In the case of ocular chemical burns we needed a quick treatment to help epithelialization and there was no time to obtain the autologous serum eye drops and in the case of neurotrophic ulcer it was refractory to all the treatments used until then (therapeutic contact lens, artificial tears, insulina drops…)

Results

In all cases, rapid epithelialization of the ocular surface was achieved (in a few days) without complications, with a decrease in pain and inflammation. In addition, visual acuity was improved in all patients and corneal haze was reduced.

Conclusions

CBED is a safe and effective therapeutic blood product for the treatment of patients with severe ocular surface involvement of different etiologies. As an allogeneic product, it can be widely used in many patients (intensive care unit, elderly, children, infectious diseases, etc.) in whom the preparation of autologous serum eye drops is not possible. Moreover, it is a treatment that can be started immediately