Utility of cenegermin for the management of neurotrophic keratopathy after penetrating keratoplasty

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to report the outcomes of patients treated with cenegermin 0.002% for neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) following penetrating keratoplasty (PK). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective case series included patients evaluated at a tertiary care hospital who completed an 8-we...

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Main Authors: Alexandra R. Zaloga, Ashley Khalili, Brandon D. Ayres, Brenton D. Finklea, Beeran B. Meghpara, Christopher J. Rapuano, Zeba A. Syed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-05-01
Series:Oman Journal of Ophthalmology
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ojo.ojo_311_24
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Summary:BACKGROUND: The study aimed to report the outcomes of patients treated with cenegermin 0.002% for neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) following penetrating keratoplasty (PK). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective case series included patients evaluated at a tertiary care hospital who completed an 8-week course of cenegermin for NK within 12 months following PK. The primary outcome measure was NK stage, while secondary outcomes included complete epithelial healing, epithelial defect size, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at baseline and four time points during and following treatment. We also evaluated disease progression. RESULTS: Fourteen eyes of 14 patients were included and demonstrated significant improvement in NK stage at 4 weeks (1.1 ± 0.7; P = 0.006) and 8 weeks after treatment initiation (0.9 ± 0.7; P = 0.002) and 1 month (0.6 ± 0.5; P < 0.001) and 6 months after treatment completion (0.8 ± 0.9; P = 0.002) compared to baseline (1.6 ± 0.5). Complete epithelial healing was noted 1 month (42.9%; P = 0.016) and 6 months after treatment completion (38.5%; P = 0.016). Epithelial defect size improved to <5 mm2 at all points (P < 0.05) during and after treatment compared to baseline (37.24 mm2). Improvement in BCVA was not significant at any time point. Two (14.3%) patients experienced disease progression up to 6 months of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Following an 8-week course of cenegermin, patients with a history of PK demonstrated improvement in NK stage, epithelial healing, and reduced epithelial defect size lasting 6 months after treatment completion. Patients with prior PK and NK may be considered candidates for cenegermin treatment.
ISSN:0974-620X
0974-7842