Successful Treatment of a Pediatric Neurotrophic Keratopathy With Cenegermin.

PURPOSE: We present a challenging case of a 9-year-old patient with refractory neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) who was successfully treated with cenegermin eye drops.

METHODS

A 7-year-old boy developed an ocular infection after a visit to a public swimming pool. After having been unsuccessfully treated for 2 years with antibiotics, steroids, and artificial tears, the patient presented to our clinic with a therapy-refractory NK. We initiated treatment with autologous serum eye drops that showed only weak response. Therefore, treatment with cenegermin eye drops was started.

RESULTS

After cenegermin therapy, a complete restoration of the corneal surface and an increase in visual acuity were achieved.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of cenegermin is effective in treating pediatric NK.