Platelet-rich Plasma Eye Drops in the Healing of Post-Keratoplasty Persistent Corneal Epithelial Defects

Purpose: To investigate the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) eye drops in the healing of post-keratoplasty persistent corneal epithelial defects Methods: Forty patients with persistent corneal epithelial defects following keratoplasty were treated with PRP eye drops four times a day. PRP eye drops were prepared with a low and high speed centrifuge method and final platelet counts were between 600000-800000 plt/μl for different ages and gender. Mean duration of treatment to complete epithelial healing was compared with mean duration of conventionally-treated corneal defects before the PRP treatment by paired t-test. Mean duration of treatment was also statistically analyzed between ages and gender by ANOVA test. P-value less than 0.05 considered statistically significant.Results: PRP eye drops led to rapid healing of persistent corneal epithelial defects in all patients. Mean duration of treatment to complete epithelial healing was 2.49 ± 1.23 weeks and was significantly less than the mean duration of conventionally-treated corneal defects before PRP treatment (6.82± 1.25wk) (P < 0.001). Mean duration of treatment was not statistically significant between different ages and gender (2.6 week in female versus 2.3 weeks in Male).Conclusion: Treatment with autologous PRP eye drops is an effective and reliable approach that accelerates healing of post-transplantation persistent corneal epithelial defects.