Effectiveness of Adjuvant Treatment with Argon Laser plus Standard Therapy in Refractory Infectious Keratitis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of argon laser phototherapy as an adjunctive treatment to standard medical therapy for refractory infectious keratitis. METHODS: We report the results of a retrospective interventional case series. Patients diagnosed with infectious keratitis with no clinical response to standard medical therapy who were referred for corneal photocoagulation with an argon laser at the Asociación Para Evitar La Ceguera (APEC) in Mexico City from May 2022 to March 2024, were included. Diagnosis was based on clinical and microbiological evaluations. Argon laser corneal photocoagulation was performed by applying sodium fluorescein, followed by laser using a wavelength of 530 nm, power of 900-950 mW, spot of 250 μm, and a pulse duration of 0.2 s. Survival analysis was performed to determine the difference in corneal epithelial healing time with and without the presence of hypopyon. RESULTS: < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The use of argon laser photocoagulation plus standard topical treatment in patients with refractory infectious keratitis can be considered a safe and accessible adjuvant therapy in daily ophthalmic practice. The presence of hypopyon was associated with delayed corneal healing and could be considered a risk factor for severe complications.