Effect of ectoin on wound healing, pain and stromal haze after photorefractive keratectomy

Background After refractive surgery, haze, mild pain, and delayed epithelial healing are the most prevalent consequences. Aim Our objectives was to evaluate the consequences of eye drops containing ectoin on postphotorefractive keratectomy (PRK) stromal haze, pain, and wound healing. Patients and methods The study was conducted by the Tanta University Hospitals, private facilities, and the Department of Ophthalmology. This study covered 20 participants (40 eyes) with myopic astigmatism or low myopia. For treating refractive errors, patients underwent PRK, with the postoperative administration of Ectoin eye drops to the right eye alone. The trial ran from December 2021 to November 2022. The study design is a controlled, prospective interventional trial. Patients between the ages of 18 and 40 years, refractions (−1:–4 diopters) on a sphere, and astigmatism (−2:0) met the inclusion criteria. Results Regarding the sex distribution, spherical equivalent, the time needed for epithelial healing, and the distinction between the right and left eyes’ pre and postoperative corneal densitometry, there was no statistically significant difference between the cases. Compared with the right eye, the left eye had a statistically significant greater pain level. The left eye displayed greater results than the right eye in terms of average and total densitometry, but not statistically significant. Conclusion Following PRK, haze, minor discomfort, and delayed epithelial healing are possible consequences. According to corneal densitometry, we observed that ectoin is safe, and effectively reduces pain perception and corneal haze. However, the limited sample size caused the less significant results. On the epithelial healing, ectoin exerts no known effects.