Topical cyclosporine‐A versus prednisolone for herpetic stromal keratitis: a randomized controlled trial

Purpose To compare topical cyclosporine‐A 2% eye drop (Cs‐A) with prednisolone acetate 1% eye drop for treatment of herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK). Methods In this randomized clinical trial, 38 eyes of 33 patients with HSK were randomly assigned to receive either 2% Cs‐A or 1% prednisolone acetate eye drops. All subjects received oral acyclovir 400 mg twice a day. Slit‐lamp examination, Scheimpflug tomography corneal optical densitometry (Pentacam®, Oculus Inc., Wetzlar, Germany), best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and intra‐ocular pressure (IOP) were evaluated at the first visit, and 14 and 30 days after the treatment. Results Within‐group analysis revealed significant improvement of total cornea optical density after 30 days of treatment in both groups (30.3 ± 10.5 to 28.3 ± 9.8, p