Crystalline keratopathy secondary to the use of ciprofloxacin after cataract surgery with confirmation by histopathological study: A case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE

To report the case of a 75-year-old patient who presented crystalline keratopathy secondary to the use of topical ciprofloxacin with histopathological verification, after cataract surgery without complications.

METHOD: Case report with clinical and photographic follow-up, as well as slides with samples of epithelium and crystalline deposits.

RESULTS

Corneal deposits resolved after drug suspension, topical lubricant change, and subsequent surgical debridement. The histopathological examination reported epithelial cells and basophilic particles compatible with drug precipitates.

CONCLUSIONS

Crystalline keratopathy is a condition in which crystals of various kinds are deposited in the corneal epithelium and/or in the anterior stroma. It may have an infectious, pharmacological cause or, in rarer cases, corneal dystrophies. Certain factors such as a previous epithelial defect, systemic pathology with diabetes mellitus, ocular surgery and previous dry eye can favor the deposition of ciprofloxacin leading to the formation of a keratopathy.