Corneal stromal depth of the demarcation line in ‘accelerated corneal cross-linking’ with different concentrations of riboflavin solutions

Purpose The aim of this study is to compare the effect of different riboflavin solutions (hypotonic and isotonic) used during accelerated corneal cross-linking (CXL) on the mean depth of the demarcation line (DDL) formed in corneal stroma. Methods This prospective, cross-sectional study included 38 eyes of 26 patients. All patients underwent accelerated CXL due to progressive keratoconus. When the corneal epithelium was removed, 17 eyes of 12 patients with corneal thickness 400 µm as Group 2. Hypotonic riboflavin was applied to Group 1 patients, and isotonic riboflavin to Group 2 patients. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography was performed on all patients by two independent observers at the end of the first and third months. Result Group 1 included 5 male and 7 female patients with an average age of 25.1 ± 8.0 years, whereas Group 2 included 7 male and 7 female patients with an average age of 31.8 ± 10.12 years. At the end of the first month, the mean DDL in Group 1 and Group 2 was 180.32 ± 10.26 and 287.21 ± 15.01 µm, respectively. This difference was statistically significant ( p