Purpose: To identify the ocular surface changes of ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and examine the efficacy of disposable bandage soft contact lens (BSCL) treatment in ocular GVHD patients.
Methods: This study is a prospective, Phase II clinical trial. Nineteen patients diagnosed with chronic GVHD based on the NIH criteria and ocular symptoms of NIH eye score 2 or greater were enrolled. Disposable BSCL was applied to the GVHD-affected eyes with topical antibiotic coverage. Ocular exams, eye symptom surveys, and AS-OCT were performed with signed informed consent. Patients were followed for one to three months.
Results: Thirty-eight eyes of 19 patients with ocular GVHD underwent BSCL treatment in this study. AS-OCT scans were done in 14 out of 19 patients. The mean best-corrected visual acuity at enrollment, 2-week, and 4-week visits was 0.180, 0.128, and 0.163 logMAR, respectively. Twenty-four out of 25 eyes (96 %) that initially presented with conjunctival inflammation, twenty-three out of 30 eyes (76.7 %) that initially presented with punctate epithelial erosion, and 8 out of 15 (53.3 %) eyes that initially presented with filamentous keratopathy showed improvement after wearing BSCL for 2 to 4 weeks. AS-OCT revealed corneal epithelial irregularity, abnormal meibomian gland orifice, and conjunctival hyperemia, in patients with ocular GVHD.
Conclusions: BSCL treatment provided significant subjective and objective improvements in ocular GVHD patients. Meanwhile, we found that AS-OCT can be a promising diagnostic tool to characterize the ocular surface changes associated with ocular GVHD.
Keywords: Bandage soft contact lens; OCT; Ocular GVHD.