Efficacy of supratarsal traimcinolone injection in the treatment of recalcitrant vernal keratoconjunctivitis

The aim is to determine the efficacy of supratarsal injections of triamcinolone acetonide among vernal keratoconjunctivitis patients not responding to the traditional topical treatment. This study was conducted at Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT) Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 91 patients aged between 7-18 years of either gender was included. Patients were subjected to injection of triamcinolone acetonide at a dose of 0.5 ml (20 mg). The patients were followed for two weeks. Those patients who had at least fifty percent decrease in the size and number of the cobblestone papillae were followed for the next three months for any recurrence. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics v27. The mean age of patients was 11.6±3.5 years. There were 45.1% (41) females and 54.9% (50) males. The supratarsal triamcinolone injection was effective in total of 63(69.2%) patients including 57.1% (36) males and 42.9% (27) females. None of the patients had recurrence of the papillae when followed for three months. The supratarsal injection of triamcinolone is effective in vernal keratoconjunctivitis for the reduction in the size and number of papillae by fifty percent after two weeks, and there is no recurrence of the papillae for three months. Additional quantitative measurements included were resolution of punctate epithelial erosions.