Recurrent Corneal Erosion Syndrome: A Study of 364 Episodes.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the management of recurrent corneal erosion syndrome (RES). A retrospective case series design was employed in which all RES cases presenting to the Duke University Eye Center from 1995 to 2002 were included. In total, 364 episodes of RES occurred in 261 patients during the study period. Of this 61% of patients were female (P < .001), average age was 46.0 years, and etiologies included trauma (51.3%), anterior basement membrane dystrophy (29.1%), other etiologies (10.3%) and unknown (9.2%). Treatments included conservative therapy (83.2%), anterior stromal puncture (ASP)(12.6%) and phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK)(4.1%). Recurrence by treatment was 31.0% for conservative therapy, 23.9% for ASP and 26.7% for PTK. Subjects treated with ASP and PTK had failed prior treatment efforts. Conclusions include that RES was commonly associated with trauma and the female gender, and that one-third of conservatively treated episodes and one-quarter of surgically treated episodes (ASP or PTK) recurred.